Zero's Dogma
by th3Darkone
Summary: The Arisen, a fabled hero. The Zero, a girl with the potential to be a heroine. After making the ultimate sacrifice to save his world, the Arisen is called to another world to help a little girl save hers. In a world where magic reigns supreme and armies rage, watch how a simple Pawn changes a girl who has given up into her dream, a hero.
1. Prologue

**Zero's Dogma**

**Hey guys this is th3Darkone. This is my first story and I welcome any constructive criticism that you are willing to give. I will try to update at least once a week so please give this story a try. This is probably the first Dragon's Dogma x Familiar of Zero story on the site. If you haven't heard of Dragon's Dogma, it is an RPG where you control the Arisen, a fabled hero who will save the country of Gransys from a dragon. For those of you who do know about the game, this will be a New Game+ 100% complete Arisen like my actual one in the game (500+ hours of Godsbane-ing chests for loot in Everfall and going through BBI, seriously) and he will have a one ability that belongs to the Seneschal. Don't worry, I will try to balance the character to not make him so OP. Please enjoy the story!**

**" " - speech**

**' ' - thoughts**

* * *

Seneschal's Chamber

_You feel an odd sense of pride as you plunge the Godsbane into your chest, as if claiming a great victory. Finally, there is an end to your tale - one penned by your own hand, no less. As your consciousness fades into black, you feel a peculiar sensation on your lips; you are smiling._

_._

_._

_._

But was that really the end?

.

.

.

As your body begins to fall through a hole in the Seneschal's Chamber, your Pawn jumps in to try and salvage your remains. Both of you are falling from the sky.

"MASTEEERRR!" your Pawn cries out. She reaches out in an attempt to grab your body. Your sensitive magic senses pick up an anomaly in the air. You feel a strange but powerful magic course through your body. You wonder what it is but ultimately decide to disregard it since you are literally on your last breath. You smile as you remember all the hardships that you went through together with your Pawn. Although you never directly said it, both of you knew that you loved her. She was your first and last companion. "MIKHAAAIIILLL!" Ah, she finally calls out your name even though you wished she could have called for you earlier. Alas, it is too late and your vision fades to black.

Your body and Pawn splashes into the ocean below.

* * *

The Void

With a twitch, Mikhail wakes up in a dark void of emptiness. Instantly he is reminded of the Rift, the dimension where the Arisen can enter to recruit Pawns from parallel worlds. He looks around and notices that he is entirely alone. The darkness feels comfortable. "Eclair..." he whispers.

Suddenly, the former Arisen feels a beckoning call from somewhere beyond the Rift. 'If I ended up here, I guess that I too became a Pawn. The one calling me must be a fairly competent Arisen to be recruiting someone as experienced as I am. Are all Pawns former Arisens? I guess I wasn't strong enough to end the cycle after all. Enough wondering, I must go fulfill my role as a Pawn.'

A bright light shines toward Mikhail. Taking a step forward, he now embarks on a journey that will finally bring change to the stagnant world of one little girl.


	2. Chapter 1 - The Pawn

**Chapter 1 - The Pawn**

**Hey guys, here is a quick release to start off my story. Constructive criticism is welcomed. This story will follow the canon with some changes to accommodate the Arisen and to make things fair. Now I know that in-game you can't have the armor pieces on a sorcerer, but I think that it is just a game mechanic. I don't see a reason why a sorcerer can't equip them so yea. Also, the Arisen can switch classes on the go but he cannot change classes while in combat and can only stay in a different class for about 5 hours before reverting back to a Sorcerer. He carries all of his gear, and I mean ALL OF IT, in a Rift Crystal which acts like a dimensional pocket in this story. I'll mention the Seneschal ability that he has later on when he actually uses it. Until then feel free to guess at what it is. As always, please enjoy.**

**Bold text - spell name/chant**

**_Italicized - _emphasis on the word**

**The Arisen is wearing the Philosopher's Robe, Hero Gauntlets, Hero Cuisses, Silver Hosen.**

**Default class of Sorcerer and has access to all Sorcerer abilities. He will stay in this class for most of the story.**

**Weapon is the Dragon's Wit**

* * *

Tristain Academy of Magic

Louise Francoise Le Blanc de la Valliere is the third daughter of Duke Valliere, a high ranking noble in the country of Tristain. She is a second year student of the Tristain Academy of Magic and is currently facing a crisis. Today is the day of the Springtime Familiar Summoning. This day is the day in which mages summon their lifelong familiars who will faithfully serve them. It is a day when mages are officially declared to be a real mage. Of course, that is only if a mage can summon a familiar. Therein lies the problem. You see, Louise is a great mage if you only look at her accomplishments on the theoretical side of magic. In other words, she _knows_ how to do it. But she can't _actually_ do it. No matter how much effort she puts into casting a spell, it always ends up as an explosion. No exceptions.

Louise is currently walking towards the Vestri court where all the second year students will summon their familiars. Biting the nail of her thumb, she mumbles her thoughts, "I will summon a familiar. I will summon a familiar. I will summon a familiar. I will summon a -"

"What are you speaking to yourself about Zero?" asks Kirche. Kirche von Alhalt Zerbst is a fellow second year student. She is one of Louise's most hated enemies; not only because she takes every chance she gets to make fun of Louise but also because the Vallière and Zerbst families hate each other. Neither of them really knows why their families hate each other, something about a Zerbst stealing a Valliere away. Zero is Kirche's nickname for Louise, stemming from Louise's zero percent chance at successfully performing even the most basic of spells.

"Shut up Zerbst! I'm trying to decide between summoning a, a dragon or a manticore!"

"Oh? So sure that we will succeed are we? Let's hope that you don't end up killing your familiar with an explosion first."

"Go away! Go play with your boyfriends instead of irritating me."

"But annoying you is fun," whined Kirche.

"Grrah!" exclaimed Louise. Choosing to ignore Kirche, Louise stomps away. "I'll show her. I'll summon the best familiar out of everyone here. Then we'll see who gets the last laugh."

* * *

Vestri Court - 3 Hours Later

"Ok, has everyone summoned a familiar?" asked Professor Jean Colbert. Jean Colbert is a square class fire mage teaching at the Tristain Academy of Magic. His runic name is the Flame Snake. Despite is frail exterior, he is quite the formidable opponent when serious.

"Louise Francoise hasn't summoned a familiar yet," exclaimed Kirche. She then turned towards Louise and gave her a smug grin and a wink.

'Crap' thought Louise. Gulping down her nervousness, the pink haired girl put on a brave face and stepped forward. Under the scrutinizing gaze of her classmates, she desperately wanted to just run away. But she can't. Her pride as a mage and as a Valliere prevents her from doing so. She then steps up to the summoning circle and clears her throat. Using a voice as commanding as she can, she lifts her wand and begins to chant.

"**I, Louise Francoise Le Blanc de la Valliere, in the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers, following my fate, summon a familiar. My divine, beautiful, wise and powerful servant, heed my call, I wish from the very bottom of my heart and add to my guidance and appear!"**

Immediately, a loud explosion erupts in front of her.

"We shouldn't have even let her try if she was just going to blow it up," remarked one student.

"Exactly, the Zero always fails anyway," said another student.

"Could she actually be Negative One by now?" mocked one more.

"ENOUGH! All of you, be quiet! You all should know better than to mock one of your peers," exclaimed Professor Colbert.

Seeing her hopes and dreams shatter right in front of her, Louise begins to tear up. Suddenly, she hears something take a step forward from the epicenter of her explosion. She looks up and through the smoke sees the silhouette of a tall person.

As the smoke cleared up, it revealed a white haired man with hair just reaching his shoulders swept back. His slightly tanned face revealed a stony expression. The man was garbed in a baggy robe of the purest white. Down the center of the robe from the neck to the feet, many intricate shapes and symbols were written. Wrapped over the sleeves on the bicep area rested a brilliant gold band on each arm. The front side of the sleeves ended slightly behind the wrists while the hind side of the sleeves extended past the hand. Around the waist area were two golden belts. He wore gleaming silver cuisses and brown gauntlets of magnificent quality. His right hand held a remarkable staff made by two red dragons spiraling into an opening at the tip. In between the heads was a large white stone.

Shocked speechless, Louise continues to stare at the mysterious man. Her classmates, noticing the man as well, fell into a stunned silence. The first one to recover was a blue haired girl by the name of Tabitha. Snapping her book shut, she narrowed her eyes at the man; looking at him up and down to see if he was a threat or not. Everyone else was broken out of their silence.

Clearing his throat, Professor Colbert began to speak, "Well then Louise, it looks like you succeeded after all. Your familiar, although unusual, has been summoned nonetheless. Please finish the contract so that we may go back to the classroom."

"O-Ok." said a still shocked Louise. **"Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, grant your blessings upon this creature and bind it as my familiar."** With that said, Louise then walked up to the man, who had knelt on one knee as soon as Louise motioned at his direction, and pecked him on the lips. She hastily pulled back with a deep blush on her face.

The man jerked his head back with a confused look on his face. Quickly after, he went back to an impassive expression. His expression broke once more for a fraction of a second as the familiar runes etched themselves onto his right hand. The man the stood up to his full height and finally broke his silence. "You called and this person has answered. From across the Rift this person has arrived. This person shall continue to serve you as your Pawn until you no longer have a need for it Master."

Ever the curious mind, Professor Colbert practically teleported before the man. "Hmm, can you show me the runes? And what is this 'Rift' you speak of?" The white-robed man took off his right gauntlet and showed the professor the runes but spoke no further. "Interesting, I've never seen runes quite like these before. I'll have to look into these later," mumbled the professor.

"Can we go inside now? The sun is bad for my skin," complained a female student.

"Ah yes, let's go." With that all the students and the professor left. By levitation. Unable to do the same, Louise settled for walking after them. The white-robed man followed.

* * *

Louise's Room

After the success of the Springtime Familiar Summoning, all classes resumed. Louise ordered her familiar to wait for her outside the classroom. After classes, Louise and her familiar had forgone their dinner and immediately headed for her dorm. Once there, Louise ordered her familiar to introduce himself.

"This person is your Pawn. This person will serve you until you no longer have a need for it."

"Stop calling yourself 'this person'. It is annoying! I meant what is your name familiar."

"This person was once known as Knight of the Hunt, Arisen Mikhail Ecto Serolius."

"I said stop calling yourself 'this person' alre- wait, _Knight_?! You're a noble?! I should've known! No peasant can afford those extravagant clothing. Oh no... Did I just inadvertently kidnap a noble, a _knight?! _Oh no. Oh no no no. This is not good, not good at all. What if it upsets your king? What if your king wants compensation? What if this causes a _war? _What if _mother finds out_?!"

"Master, please calm down. This person is no longer a Knight of the Hunt," assured Mikhail. "And my old king no longer... requires this person's services. He has since relieved me of my duties. And this person is no longer a noble, simply your Pawn to use as you see fit."

"So you're a fallen noble?" squeaked Louise. With a nod of his head, Louise let a out a huge sigh, "Thank Brimir. I won't be the person who brought war to Tristain's doorstep. Mikhail, right?"

"Yes, master."

"What is your affinity?"

"This person is sorry, but what does master mean by 'affinity'?"

"Ugh. What kind of mage are you if you don't even know what I meant. Were you truly a knight?"

"Do you mean what elements this person can cast?" asked Mikhail. "This person can cast the standard fire, lightning, ice, earth, wind, holy, and dark elements as well as other non-elemental magics. Does this please your inquiry master?"

Louise was speechless. Not only did the person in front of her just nonchalantly admit that he was a square class mage but also that he can cast holy, dark, and non-elemental magics. Unbelievable. Her familiar was powerful, but he just had to be a heretic. Her night could not get any worse.

"This person can also switch classes to suit your needs master."

Classes? Louise could not understand what he was talking about so she chose the easiest response: "Good night Mikhail, we'll continue this tomorrow. Sleep on that hay pile over there. Oh and I order you to stop referring to yourself as 'this person' just use 'I' or 'me' like normal people ok?"

"Alright master. Thi- I will rest here until tomorrow. Good night master."

"Wake me up at dawn."

"Alright master."

And so, Louise's first day as the master of a Pawn came to an end.


	3. Chapter 2 - The Man

**Chapter 2 - The Man**

**Hey guys, here is another quick release in celebration of my new story. Some of you might notice that Louise is not as... feisty as when she treats Saito. That is because she knows that Mikhail is actually a mage or "fallen noble" as she claims it. Because of this, she actually treats Mikhail better than Saito at the beginning. As always, criticism and comments are welcomed. Enjoy.**

**" " - speech**

**' ' - thoughts**

**Bold text - spell/chant**

_**Italicized -**_** emphasis on word**

**Forgot to mention this before but... Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero**

* * *

Louise's Room

Mikhail waited in Louise's room, unable to truly sleep because he is now a Pawn. When he was sure that Louise was asleep, the white Pawn stepped out to go exploring. Although he has lost the majority of his emotions during the transition between being the Arisen and becoming a Pawn, he still had a strong sense of curiosity.

* * *

The Halls of the Academy

While wondering through the great halls of the academy, the Pawn just had to compare it to the Duke's castle in Gran Soren. The Duke's castle pales in comparison. Not only was the academy physically bigger, the decorations were also of higher quality. "Madeleine would love to be here, probably to snatch some things," joked the former Arisen. Surprised by the the impulsive remark, the white haired man thought back to what he just remembered. 'Madeleine? Who is Madelei-' A head-splitting migraine erupts in the man's head. "I remember... Huh, so that's what becoming a Pawn does to you to ensure loyalty. Erase my memories will you? Well looks like you failed," smirked Mikhail.

"Umm excuse me, what are you doing out so late? And who are you speaking to sir?" came a feminine voice.

Suppressing the urge to yelp in surprise, Mikhail turned around to see a young woman. The woman had short, black shoulder length hair with a white hairband on top. She wore a standard black and white maid uniform. The woman was short, only reaching the man's upper chest.

'Well, I guess I can't exactly call her short. I'm just abnormally tall or so I've been told,' thought Mikhail. "Greetings ma'am. I am simply exploring these great halls to familiarize myself with this fine academia. The question should be what are _you _doing out so late little miss? 'Tis a late hour for a fair maiden like you."

"Me, a fair maiden? Oh no, not me. Wait, are you Madam Louise's familiar?" asked the blushing maid.

"Yes I am that which you speak of. Although, I wonder how you knew that." Despite his clam exterior, Mikhail's mind was racing through the new information presented to him. 'Familiar? Is that what they call a Pawn here?'

"News of you irregular summoning spread throughout the school like wildfire. I'd be surprised if someone hasn't heard about you sir."

"I see. Ah, where are my manners, Mikhail Ecto Serolius at your service," introduced the man with a bow. 'sigh... I hate attracting attention. I should be used to it, but the threat of failing to live up to expectations always gets to me,' he thought.

With a bow, the maid responded, "Greetings Sir Serolius. I am Siesta of Tarbes, a maid here. Would you like me to give you a tour of the premises?"

"No need. I see that you have your own troubles to tend to," Mikhail said while referring to the basket of laundry in Siesta's hands. "I shan't hold you up any longer. Have a good night Miss Siesta." With that, the Pawn departed. Siesta bowed once more and then left to finish her work.

'A maid huh? The students here must be rich to be pampered like this,' thought the white robed man.

.

.

While making a mental map of the academy, the man stumbles across a blonde boy chatting with a brunette girl. The girl had a blush stretching from ear to ear while the boy was making a speech about how great the girl in front of him was. Mikhail suppressed a smile that was creeping across his face at the boy's attempts at wooing a person of the fairer gender. Mikhail was amused at the blonde's cheesy words and at how the girl was actually being swayed by it. Trying not to interrupt the lovebirds, the man turned around to walk the other way. Unfortunately, the boy saw him and called out to him.

"Hey, you there. You are Louise's familiar are you not?" inquired the boy.

Giving himself a mental slap in the face for being noticed, the man turned around with his best disarming smile and replied, "Affirmative. I am Master Louise's Pawn."

"Hah! You think that I, Guiche de Gramont would fall for such a blatant lie. Louise must have paid a nameless noble like yourself to act as her familiar."

Choosing not to reply this time in the face of the young boy's ignorance, Mikhail walked away. As he left the scene, he could faintly hear the boy, Guiche, calling him a disgraced noble for stooping so low.

.

.

.

After the horrible first impressions of the students here given by Guiche, Mikhail arrived at an open courtyard. At the far side of the court, Mikhail could see a flower bed that seemed to be well maintained. 'Selene would be proud of the gardeners here,' thought the man. Suddenly, the Pawn felt like he was being watched. Snapping his head in the direction of the source in the sky, Mikhail could just barely make out the shape of something dodging out of sight. On guard now, the man activated his Rift Crystal and retrieved the Dragon's Wit. Keeping a sharp eye out for his mysterious observer, Mikhail slowly backed into the academy.

Once inside, Mikhail exhaled a breath that he had held in case he needed to speed-cast a spell. Worried for his master, the Pawn hastily returned to her side.

* * *

Library

Professor Colbert was searching through literal tons of books to find out more about the runes on Louise's familiar. Another thing that intrigued him was the fact that Louise, the so called Zero for being unable to cast a single spell correctly, actually summoned not just any familiar, but a person. Not only that, the person was also a highly skilled mage as well if Colbert's magical sense was correct.

While looking for any past incidents of a mage summoning another person as a familiar, Colbert came across an ancient book detailing the exploits of the Founder Brimir. The book briefly mentioned Brimir's four _humanoid_ familiars and had drawings of their runes. Shock ran through Colbert's mind as he looked at the runes of the legendary Left Hand of God, the Gandalfr. The runes on Louise's familiar was almost an exact match with the Gandalr; the only difference being the first rune representing a servant instead of a companion.

Professor Colbert quickly scribbled down his findings and ran towards the headmaster's office. Knocking rapidly on the door, the headmaster's secretary Miss Longueville answered. Miss Longueville was a bespectacled green haired woman. Professor Colbert had a crush on her although he never told anyone. Of course, it doesn't take a sage to uncover this fact for Colbert has a poor poker face.

"How can I help you Professor Colbert?" asked the secretary.

"Is Headmaster Osmond in? I must speak with him immediately," replied the professor.

"Headmaster Osmond is currently sleeping in his room. Would you like to leave a message with me?"

"No, wake him up. I cannot wait for tomorrow."

"Please wait inside while I wake him up professor," the lady said while opening the door and beckoning him in. The headmaster's room was conveniently an extension of the office, allowing for easy access between the two rooms for the old headmaster.

Once inside, Colbert noticed that Longueville's desk was piled high with papers that the headmaster had no doubt left for her to do. Colbert stood by the door and waited for the headmaster. After several moments, an old man with long white hair and beard emerged. Osmond eerily resembled the stereotype for an old wise sage. The old man was still in his bed wear and seemed to be annoyed at being woken up so late into the night. However, one can clearly see that the old man actually felt a little upbeat at waking up to the sight of a beautiful woman.

"What did you need me at such a late hour for Colbert?" asked the old man.

"I have information regarding Louise's familiar," replied the professor. At that, the old man narrowed his eyes and dismissed his secretary. He waited until she closed the door and signaled for Colbert to continue.

"Proceed Colbert," commanded the sage.

"Louise's familiar bears almost an exact copy of runes once belonging to one of Founder Brimir's familiar, the Gandalfr. If this proves to be correct, then Louise Francoise just might be a void mage! Can you believe that? A second void mage! We must inform the crown at once," Colbert said excitedly.

"No, we will do no such thing."

"What? Why not? This is probably the biggest discovery in centuries!"

"That is exactly why. Think of all the political uses that a void mage can fulfill. If we inform the crown about this, then Louise will undoubtedly become a tool. And think about what Romalia will do once they find out. Louise will be most likely be branded a heretic for indirectly claiming to be the Founder reborn. We might have an Inquisition on our heads if this leaks out," reprimanded the sage.

"Oh, I see what you mean."

"Good. Now that you understand, please keep this little tidbit between the two of us alright?"

"Alright. Good night Headmaster Osmond."

"Goodnight to you as well professor."

* * *

Louise's Room - Dawn

Mikhail rested as soon as he thought it was safe in Louise's room. When the sun's rays began to filter into the room, the Pawn went over to his master's bed to wake her up. Because his master went to bed so early last night, she was still wearing her school uniform. Shaking her lightly, the man spoke, "Master, please wake up. It is dawn."

No response. The man tried once more, shaking a little harder, "Master, it is dawn now so please awaken."

Again, no response. 'Third time's the charm right?' thought the man. At that, the white haired man slammed his fist on to the bed, effectively doing nothing to arouse his master. With a deep sigh, the man was about to go find a bucket of water when his master finally sat up. She yawned while stretching and opened her eyes. When she saw her familiar, she blinked several times, rubbed her eyes and stared at him again.

"Good morning master. I have awoken you at dawn as you requested. Do you have any other requests for me?" asked the Pawn.

"Oh yeah, you. Mikhail was it? Pick my close from those drawers and dress me," ordered the pinkette. She then stood up and proceeded to strip right in front of the Pawn.

"Do you wish for the uniform master? Or do you want something else," the man replied stoically. If he was going to be a Pawn for this little Arisen, then he was going to do a good job at aiding her no matter what. He hesitated a little when the girl gestured to the fresh uniform and then for him to actually put her clothes on her. Nevertheless, the man dutifully fulfilled his master's request and dressed her.

As Louise and her familiar walked out of her room, they were greeted with a dark-skinned girl with huge assets and bright red hair.

With a smug grin on her face, the red hair spoke, "Oh? Good morning Louise. Who is that dashing man?"

"You were there Zerbst! You know that this is my familiar."

"Oh really? Why just this morning a little bird told me that you are just paying an actor to act as your familiar."

"W-w-why you! I would never desecrate the ritual like that! You and everyone else was there when I summoned him! You all saw that I summoned him."

"Not quite. We were all blinded by your explosion that we couldn't see him until the dust settled down. You could have just as easily have him nearby and then run into the circle when everyone was distracted by your explosion. And judging from your past exploits, that sounds more convincing than the Zero actually succeeding."

"WHAT! You have the gall to call me a liar?! You -"

"Master, let us simply ignore this person and make good on our way," interrupted Mikhail. In his opinion, it was just too damn early for all of this, considering that all the other students are probably still asleep. "Have a good morning ma'am," Mikhail said to Kirche. The man then lightly pushed Louise forward. Apparently that triggered something in her mind as the pinkette suddenly exploded in a fit of anger.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO BE ORDERING ME AROUND FAMILIAR?! I am the master here, not you!"

Kirche then chose that moment to speak up, "Can't even control your own _familiar_ Louise? For shame. A familiar should be something grand, like my own. Flame! Come here."

A large red salamander emerged from her room. The salamander's tail was on fire. It crawled to the side of Kirche and let out a small growl.

"This is my magnificent familiar Flame. He is a fire salamander from the Fire Mountains," boasted the Germanian. "He perfectly compliments my affinity of fire doesn't he?"

As Kirche was bragging about her familiar, Mikhail grew tense the moment he laid eyes upon the fire salamander. He put an arm in front of Louise and stepped forward while summoning his archistaff into his hand and pointing it at the salamander. That was when both Louise and Kirche grew silent and stared at Mikhail. His stance showed that he was a veteran and he radiated killing intent towards the salamander. The salamander whined and retreated a couple steps. Both girls were unnerved by the sheer bloodlust released by Mikhail. Louise was the first one to break the silence that creeped in.

"Wha-what are you doing familiar?" she peeped.

After a couple more seconds of silence, Mikhail stepped back towards Louise and dismissed his weapon. He then spoke, "Apologies master, Kirche. I thought that this creature was a Pyre Saurian who escaped from Bitterblack Isle. If it was, the savage beast must be eliminated immediately before it could do harm to either of you. Fortunately it is not one of them."

Kirche, finally regaining enough sense to talk, simply looked at Mikhail with dreamy eyes and muttered, "Oh my..."

Louise, still a little shaken up, decided to ignore Kirche looking at Mikhail and walked towards Alviss Hall.

* * *

Alviss Hall

When Louise walked in with Mikhail, all of the students currently in the hall turned towards her. Then they started to whisper among themselves. Louise promptly ignored them and marched to an open spot. She then waited for Mikhail to pull out her chair; however since she never said anything, she and Mikhail just ended up standing there looking at each other.

Louise then cleared her throat and stared at Mikhail while pointing at her chair. Connecting the dots, the man hastily walked over and pulled out her chair. Louise sat down and a maid came to serve her some breakfast. When she began eating, Louise dismissed her familiar.

Mikhail left the the hall and went wondering again. Eventually he ended up in a small courtyard filled with chairs, tables and students. The students were sitting around chatting with each other or talking to their familiars. Then Mikhail spotted Siesta running around. The man went up and greeted her, "Greetings Miss Siesta, 'tis a fine morning don't you agree?"

"Oh, Sir Serolius. Yes it is indeed a good day today," the maid replied.

"Looks like you have quite the load of work to do. I'd be glad to offer my assistance if you don't mind."

"Please don't trouble yourself sir, I can handle it."

"I insist," and with that, Mikhail took over the cart of desserts that Siesta was using.

"Alright then Sir Serolius. Please follow me."

Mikhail and Siesta went around serving a couple of people until Mikhail went to serve the last dessert to a blonde girl with curled hair down the sides of her face. The girl's name was Montmorency Magarita La Fere de Montmorency. She was sitting across from the blonde boy from last night. 'Well look at what we have here. Guiche was his name right?' thought Mikhail. Mikhail went back to the cart and began to push it away. It was at that moment that the brunette from last night called out to Mikhail to ask if he knew where Guiche was. The Pawn suppressed a smile and led the girl to Guiche's table. Upon sight, the brunette cried out, "Guiche, there you are. I made the souffle that you asked for last night." Guiche stared at the girl and then at Mikhail who had guided her over.

Montmorency looked aghast as she quickly glanced at the brunette and then back to Guiche. "Guiche, who is this?" she asked. Guiche gulped and tried to explain to no avail. The lover's spat ended with two broken hearts and two cheeks slapped. Of course both cheeks belonged to Guiche.

Mikhail suppressed a laugh and tried to walk away but stopped when Guiche called out to him.

"You there, halt! How dare you break the heart of two ladies. This is an unforgivable act. I challenge you to a duel!" the blonde declared.

The declaration gained the attention of everybody in the courtyard. Louise, who was looking for Mikhail also heard the declaration and rushed over. 'That better not involve my familiar' she thought.

Mikhail once again tried to simply ignore the man and walk away but that action made Guiche even more mad. This time he tried to provoke a reaction by using petty insults. When that failed as well, Guiche said, "Hmph, I guess the Zero should have hired someone with more backbone. It is only suitable for the Zero to even fail at choosing decent people. Failure begets more failure I guess."

That provoked a reaction, but not from Mikhail. Louise raged. She knew that her familiar was at the very least an experienced mage who could handle himself. With this knowledge, Louise commanded, "Familiar, I order you to accept his challenge and then punish him for insulting your master!"

"Yes master," replied the Pawn. Mikhail then turned around and glared at the blonde boy. Guiche flinched back but then put on a brave face since he still thought that the white haired man was just a commoner that was hired by Louise.

"Meet me at the Vestri Court in an hour," announced Guiche. That announcement sent all the students into a frenzy. Finally, something is going to happen on this boring day, and what better entertainment than watching a commoner be taught their place? Many of the students rushed to the designated area in anticipation for the match.

* * *

Vestri Court - 1 Hour Later

"I'm commend you for actually showing up commoner actor. If you apologize to me and the ladies now, I might forgive you," said Guiche.

"What are the terms for victory?" Mikhail replied instead of apologizing. "My master has ordered me to be victorious but I do not wish to end a life that has only begun. I hope we can end the duel before then."

Mikhail's assurance of victory irritated Guiche. "Very well then. Victory goes to the one left standing at the end. We shall fight using _magic._" Practically tasting victory, Guiche flicked his rose wand, causing a petal to fall. When the petal hit the ground, a bronze female statue wearing a beautiful suit of bronze armor emerged. "I am Guiche de Gramont. My runic name is the Bronze. Therefore, you shall face my **Bronze Valkyrie!**"

In response, Mikhail simply summoned his archistaff the Dragon's Wit and announced his name in the same fashion as Guiche, "I am Mikhail Ecto Serolius. If I had a runic name then it would be the Seneschal." As soon as Mikhail said that, the ambient magic in the air suddenly increased tenfold. Many of the students felt like they were suddenly carrying a hundred pounds on their back and some of the unluckier ones found it difficult to breathe.

.

.

Elsewhere, Professor Jean Colbert, Headmaster Osmond, and many other teachers at the academy felt the massive increase of magic centralized in one of the courtyards and rushed there to see what had caused the huge spike of magic.

.

.

Mikhail continued his speech, "Are you ready to face the Slayer of Grigori, the World Dragon?"


	4. Chapter 3 - The Sorcerer

**Chapter 3 - The Sorcerer**

**Hey guys, here is chapter 3 of Zero's Dogma. I really appreciate the feedback that I got from you guys. Thanks. Anyways, onto some explaining. First of all, the spells used. The Repel Thrust one is nothing special, I just renamed the Magick Billow (heavy attack for sorcerers). **

**To explain Dragon's Dogma spells in FoZ terms, **

**I****ngle and High Ingle is fire-wind (wind for the explosion on impact).**

**Levin is wind-wind-wind (wind friction causes electricity, also if I recall correctly, that is how Wardes does lightning if not let me know). High/Grand Levin is wind-wind-wind-wind**

**Frigor is water-water-wind, High/Grand Frigor would be water-water-water-wind**

**Comestion is fire-fire-earth, High Comestion would be fire-fire-fire-earth**

**Any further spells will be explained when they are used in the story.**

**Secondly, the Arisen will be considered a Hexagonal Mage by FoZ standards. He is much more than that, but that is what his official ranking according to the ranking system in Halkeginia will be in this story. Yes, he will be able to cast Void magic, heck there is a spell for Sorcerers actually called Voidspell. He won't be able to cast FoZ specific Void spells like Explosion or Dispel though, but what is Explosion to Grand Bolide and what is Dispel to High Silentium right? Anywho, please comment, review, criticize and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero**

* * *

Vestri Court

"Are you ready to face the Slayer of Grigori, the World Dragon?"

It was at this moment that Guiche de Gramont knew that he made a grave mistake. This man was not just any simple man. He was not a commoner. He was not just any noble as well. This man was an extremely powerful _mage. _The ambient magic in the air's sudden increase in density made Guiche almost collapse to the ground. This man before him had a regal, authoritative aura radiating from him. It made Guiche feel like prostating before him just to get his glare off him. But backed by the foolishness and rebelliousness of the young, Guiche fought back his fears and roared, "CHARGE MY **VALKYRIE!**"

The **Bronze Valkyrie **exploded forward in a commendable burst of speed. It crossed the distance between it and Mikhail in the blink of an eye. It raised back its right fist and was about to let the white haired mage taste some bronze. And then it was pushed back. Rather, it was **Repelled**.

Mikhail watched as the **Bronze Valkyrie** surged towards him. It displayed inhuman speed. Impressive, but the Pawn had seen much faster creatures. As the bronze structure raised its fist back and began to deliver a punch aimed at his face, Mikhail shifted his head to the right, the bronze fist flying past his head over his left shoulder. Then, Mikhail thrust his left hand into the bronze female's abdomen, sending it flying back towards its master. When it landed, Mikhail noticed that his **Repel Thrust **did some nasty damage to it. The **Bronze Valkyrie **was cut in two horizontally where Mikhail's hand had been.

Mentally, Mikhail slapped himself on his forehead. The statue was made of bronze so he thought it would have been harder to destroy. He was surprised at the speed in which the young mage could conjure a golem. 'I guess he had to sacrifice durability for speed when conjuring the golem' thought Mikhail. The white haired man then looked at Guiche's face and found himself slightly disappointed. The blonde boy was on the verge of having a breakdown. It seems that he overestimated the magic users of this land, thinking that the magic users must have been superior to the ones back in Gransys. The ambient magic was way thicker here after all. 'I probably shouldn't judge the mages here based on a young apprentice though,' corrected Mikhail.

Guiche was shocked. His beautiful **Valkyrie **had been utterly destroyed with a single attack. It wasn't even a magical attack. Contrary to his thoughts, the **Repel Thrust **was a magical attack. Upon placing their palm on an opponent, the user would then cast a small **Repel **spell into their hand. Depending on the skill of the user, the spell could range from the likeness of a breeze to being slammed with the tail of dragon.

Panicking, Guiche waved his rose wand once more and four more petals fell, conjuring four **Bronze Valkyries **upon impact with the ground. This time, however, the golems each had a weapon. From left to right, they held a longsword, a mace, a halberd, and a battleaxe. Once more Mikhail was impressed with the sheer speed of conjuring the golems. A smile slowly crept across his face.

"It is great to see an apprentice of the magical arts so proficient in their craft," said Mikhail. 'It could use some more work on the durability though' he thought.

"Silence! I need not your compliments," retorted the blonde mage. At that, his golems charged forward.

"Very well, for the display you have shown me, I shall face you as a fellow user of the magical arts," replied Mikhail. He then casted **High Ingle **and another **Ingle **to knock back the golems. Another disappointment as all but one of the golems were destroyed on impact with the fire spell. The remaining golem, the halberd user, was knocked back and its chest was caved in. Mikhail unleashed a **Levin **spell to finish it off. Three lightning bolts utterly destroyed the grounded golem.

Guiche was shocked speechless. The man before him had just casted four Line-class fire spells rapidly and then ended it off with a Triangle-class wind spell. Whoever he was, the white haired mage was definitely a better mage than Guiche. In an act of desperation, the blonde repeatedly waved his wand back and forth, summoning a total of ten golems. However, with each additional one, their intricate design deteriorated. The last golem only vaguely resembled the female form.

Before the golems could charge, Mikhail quickly casted** Comestion** and a towering wall of flame erupted from underneath the golems. All of them were sent airborne. Not done yet, the Pawn then casted** Levin **upon the golems, destroying most of them while sending others straight back to the ground. Finally, a huge pillar of ice once again erupted from the ground as Mikhail casted **Frigor. **Guiche fell to his knees with a blank face.

"I y-y-yield," surrendered Guiche de Gramont. The ambient magic returned to normal levels as Mikhail relaxed.

The silence in the courtyard had gone unnoticed as everyone watched the duel with wide eyes. The so-called duel had only lasted about five minutes, with most of that just being the usual introduction speech between combatants.

Inside, Louise Francoise had been leaping and bounding with joy. She was at first disappointed to have summoned a fallen noble as a familiar, but was now _grateful _that she had summoned a fallen noble. Due to his fallen status, no one would care if he suddenly vanished, no political whiplash would occur, and best of all he was _her _familiar. A powerful Square-class mage was _her _familiar. Her familiar had just proven to everyone present that she, too was a powerful mage; for a familiar was, in a way, the physical representation of a mage's potential. She would no longer be called the Zero.

.

.

The first adult to arrive at the scene was Professor Colbert, arriving when Guiche had just conjured four of his **Bronze Valkyries**. What he saw had amazed him. Normally, a mage was only able to cast one element expertly while sometimes able to cast a Line-class spell of a different element at most. This was because each mage had an elemental affinity that restricted their spells to a single element, at most to two. But what Louise's familiar had just done was cast all four elements. More than that, he had casted with almost no wait time in between each spell. Whoever this man was, he was potentially a very dangerous threat to the academy or a great ally should he prove to be friendly.

Keeping an incantation in mind just in case, Colbert approached the crowd of students to break it up. "Hey! What are you doing?" shouted Colbert. The students broke out of the silence with a gasp and quickly ran away. The only ones remaining were an ecstatic Louise, a depressed Guiche, Kirche with a dreamy look in her face, and Tabitha who feigned reading. The Pawn dismissed his archistaff and approached Louise.

"Master, I have done as you commanded. Anything else of need?" asked Mikhail. Before Louise could reply, the other professors arrived. The green haired secretary had also arrived.

"Headmaster Osmond has requested that Louise Francoise and her familiar as well as Guiche de Gramont report to his office at once," declared Miss Longueville. Turning her head to face Colbert, "You too Professor Colbert." With that, she turned around and departed.

Immediately, Louise's happy mood plummeted. Being called to the Headmaster's office after what just happened was definitely not a good thing. "Follow me familiar," she mumbled.

"Yes master."

* * *

Headmaster's Office

"Come in," said Osmond in response to a knock on the door. Although nobody knew, Osmond had seen the entire duel through the use of a spell. Louise, the white haired mage, Guiche, Colbert, and the secretary entered the room. The green haired woman sat in her desk to finish her paperwork, most of it actually belonging to the old headmaster. The rest stood in a line in front of the headmaster's desk. "I see nobody was hurt in this incident."

"Thankfully so," agreed Colbert. The bald professor was still thinking back on how the duel had played out. The sheer diversity of spells casted seemed to be impossible to have come from one man, but it had actually happened. He needed to know how to do it. This is a breakthrough in the magical world just waiting to happen.

"Now then, first of all, you're not in trouble Louise. And neither are you Guiche," said Osmond. "But I do expect this to never occur again, is that clear? Somebody could have been injured."

"Yes Headmaster Osmond," replied both students uniformly.

"Good. Both of you are dismissed. If you don't mind, Louise, I need to talk to your familiar privately."

Louise looked at her familiar who began to follow her out. She then looked at the headmaster. Then she nodded her head and stepped outside and closed the door.

Mikhail turned around to look at the old sage, noting that he looked just like how one would imagine an old and wise wizard. "You wanted to speak with me?"

* * *

Hallway

After speaking with the old sage, Louise and her Pawn returned to her room. Classes had been delayed. The duo grabbed Louise's books and headed to class.

"What did the headmaster talk to you about?" asked Louise. She had tried to listen in on the conversation but someone had casted a spell to prevent people from eavesdropping.

"The headmaster asked who I was. I told him that I am your Pawn. Afterwards, he had me promise not to harm any of the students in this academy," answered Mikhail. 'Honestly, who does he think I am? If I wanted to harm anyone, I would have done so already' he thought. Louise and Mikhail entered her classroom and all chatter stopped. Mikhail looked around the room and noticed several creatures. After repeatedly hearing the students talk about familiars and summoning, it wasn't too hard to put two and two together. Some of the creatures were normal: cats, dogs, birds, a snake. What really made the white haired man uneasy was the floating eye.

'I really hope that that is not a Vile Eye and just a similar looking creature.'

Louise ignored the silence and walked to a seat and sat down. The Pawn followed her and then stood beside his master. About a minute later, the teacher walked in. The teacher was a middle aged woman with brown hair and purple clothing.

"Hello class, my name is Mrs Chevreuse and I will be teaching you about Earth-based magic. I believe that the magic of Earth is intimately involved in everyone's lives for without it, we would not be able to produce or process necessary metals; raising buildings from large boulders and harvesting crops would also be more difficult without it." After finishing her little spiel about the superiority of Earth magic, she noticed Mikhail. "And who are you mister? You do not look like a student here," she asked while looking at the Pawn.

Before Mikhail could reply, Louise said smugly, "This here is my familiar Mrs. Chevreuse."

"Odd, I never thought that another human could be familiar. Huh."The teacher then went on with her lesson, starting with a review of the basics of magic. "Who can tell me what the elements of magic are?"

A student stood up and replied "The four elements of magic consists of Fire, Water, Wind, Earth and the lost element of the Void. With these five, they make up the Holy Pentagon of Magic. By combing, or stacking, them we can make other elements like Ice and Lightning."

"Excellent John. You may be seated."

Mikhail was confused. 'That's it? What about Holy and Dark? Well I guess the Void could be considered Dark, but that leaves the Holy element.' The teacher went on with the lesson and demonstrated transmutation magic. She took out a couple pebbles and then changed them to a golden metal.

"Is that _gold_?" blurted out Kirche.

"No," said the blue haired girl next to her.

"No, this is brass. Only Square-class mages can transmute gold. I am only a," Mrs Chevreuse paused for dramatic effect "Triangle- class Earth mage. Now, would somebody like to try it out? You there, Louise was it? Why don't you come here and try it out."

"NO!" practically the entire class shouted at the same time.

"It'd be best if she didn't," said one student.

In return, Louise turned around and replied back, "Shut up! I can do it." She continued her progress towards the front of class. Many of the students got out of their chairs and under their desks in preparation. The short blue haired mage, Tabitha simply walked out of the classroom.

Mikhail looked around uneasily again. The response from her schoolmates was worrying but stood his ground nonetheless. What could be so bad about his master casting a spell. Louise had arrived at the front desk by the time everyone had bunkered down. She raised her wand, pointing it at the pebbles on the front desk and started to incant something. The pebbles started to glow brightly, the spell working its magic, when suddenly Mikhail noticed the magic destabilizing. With a bright magic sigil over his head, he changed from **Vocation: Sorcerer **to **Vocation: Mystic Knight**. He then sprinted towards Louise and then stood in front of her. He took the magick shield off his back and used it to block the ensuing explosion. With a loud boom, the magic-infused pebbles exploded.

When all was clear, there was once again a magic sigil above Mikhail's head as he changed back to **Vocation: Sorcerer.** Louise opened her eyes and witnessed a charred classroom. Mrs Chevreuse was on the floor past out. Her classmates slowly emerged from hiding to inspect the damage. When they saw the room, they erupted in laughter.

"I guess she is still the Zero after all!" laughed a fat blonde student.

.

.

After Mrs Chevreuse had been taken to the infirmary, Louise was required to clean up the classroom as punishment without using magic. Of course she couldn't use magic like that anyways. Mikhail had stayed behind to help out his master. Help out as in doing all of the cleaning while Louise just sat in a chair with a sad expression on her face. Afterwards, both of them returned to Louise's room.

* * *

Louise's Room

Louise couldn't understand it. How could her familiar be able to cast so many different elemental spells so easily while she still couldn't even cast a simple spell. With a frustrated shriek, she threw her pillow across her room and plopped down on her bed. Ever the diligent Pawn, Mikhail picked up the pillow and returned it to his master's bed. That was when Louise decided to speak up.

"How can you cast magic so easily?"

"What do you mean master?"

"Exactly what I just said, how can you cast spells so easily?"

"... I've had a lot of practice."

Heaving a great sigh, Louise decided to continue where they had left off last night. "What do you mean by 'changing classes.' "

"Changing classes, or officially **Vocations **is a type of magic in which I can invoke to assume a different type of combatant. As of right now, I am permanently in **Vocation: Sorcerer, **probably due to your wish for a magical Pawn. While I can still switch classes, I will automatically turn back to being a Sorcerer after a set period of time," explained the Pawn.

"Okaayy? So what... 'vocations' can you change into and what do they do?" asked Louise.

"There are the three basic ones **Vocation: Fighter, Vocation: Strider **and **Vocation: Mage**. The Fighter excels in swordsmanship and defense, using a sword and shield. The Strider excels in agility, their quick attacks with dual daggers quickly put down enemies while their short bow makes short work of enemies from afar. The Mage excels at striking down foes using the magical forces around us; they can attack with elemental magic, enchant allies' weapons, heal allies, and cure most debilitations using a magic staff.

Next are the advanced vocations, improvements upon the basic ones: **Vocation: Warrior, Vocation: Ranger **and **Vocation: Sorcerer. **The Warrior forgoes defense and focuses solely on earth-shattering strength, using either a two-handed sword or warhammer. The Ranger replaces the short bow with a large longbow; while still retaining most dagger skills of the Strider, the Ranger focuses more on long-range offensive, killing foes often with only one well-placed arrow. The Sorcerer, in exchange for being unable to heal, are granted the best in offensive magic, a single spell can change the outcome of a battle; they have to use an archistaff for a regular magic staff is unable to withstand the massive amount of magic a Sorcerer wields.

Finally, there are three other vocations, the hybrid vocations. These are a combination of two basic vocations: **Vocation: Mystic Knight, Vocation: Magick Archer **and **Vocation: Assassin. **The Mystic Knight is a combination of the Fighter and Mage vocations. Mystic Knights are, in effect a magic knight, using either a sword, a mace, or a staff along with a magick shield. The magick shield of a Mystic Knight can also be used offensively when enchanted with an element. They excel in defense and counterattacking. The Magick Archer is a combination of the Strider and Mage vocations. Magick Archers use either a staff or dual daggers along with a magick bow. They attack with swift magical strikes and magical homing arrows. They excel at dispatching many enemies swiftly. The Assassin is a combination of the Fighter and Strider vocations. Assassins can use either a sword and shield, dual daggers and short bow, or a combination of them. Assassins are masters at stealth, poisons, espionage, scouting, and assassinations." lectured Mikhail. 'Heh, there should also be Vocation: Professor as well after what I just went through.'

Mikhail then noticed that sometime during his lecture, Louise had started to take notes as if he really was a professor teaching a student. Louise looked up with wonder in her eyes. The young girl was really surprised at what her familiar could do. With this new information, the pink haired girl decided to call it a day and head to bed.

"Since I am a Sorcerer, I am knowledgeable in the magical arts. If you would like me to, we could work on helping you cast master," offered Mikhail. Louise suddenly felt wide awake again. She rushed over to her familiar and demanded an explanation.

"You could help me in casting spells?!" said Louise with hope easily detectable on her face.

"Of course, when observing your demonstration of magic earlier, I noticed that the only problem in your spellcraft was the magic destabilizing towards the end master. By solving that, it is highly probable that you can then successfully cast from then on," replied the white haired man. Louise then loudly yawned and Mikhail decided that working on her spellcraft could wait for tomorrow. Although stubborn, Louise finally gave in to the embrace of a deep slumber.

"Good night master."

* * *

Library

Once more, Professor Colbert is spending the night away in the library in pursuit of knowledge. Headmaster Osmond had him search up anything about Louise's mysterious familiar. A powerful mage by the title of the Seneschal was bound to have turned up somewhere before after all.

* * *

Headmaster's Office - 6 Hours Ago

"Very well, you may go," said Headmaster Osmond. Mikhail nodded his head and then left. His master had been waiting for him outside the office. When they were sure that he had left, Osmond signaled for Colbert to listen.

"I want you to dig up any information that you can about that man and then report back to me. He is not just any mage, that's for sure. We can't be sure if he will be a threat later on if he finds out that he just might be the Gandalfr. I recall him calling himself Mikhail Ecto Serolius and the runic name of the Seneschal," whispered the headmaster.

"Yes headmaster. Also have you noticed that he is the origin of that huge magical spike earlier today? And the things he can do with magic! His magical prowess is simply astounding! To have achieved so much while only being about half my age is amazing," chirped Professor Colbert.

"Yes, I have noticed. Feel free to utilize the Fenrir section of the library. That is where all the records of any Triangle-class and above mage in the country resides," said the old sage.

* * *

Library - Present Time

Colbert was getting worried. He couldn't find any records of a Square-class mage by the name of Mikhail Ecto Serolius. He also couldn't find any mage with the runic name of the Seneschal. What he did find, however, was what the Seneschal meant. In the old Brimiric language, seneschal was the title given to a royal officer in charge of justice and given control over southern provinces in a kingdom. In other words, if the Seneschal wasn't a runic name but a title, then that meant that Louise's familiar was in effect a ruler second only to the king.

Professor Colbert once more ran towards the headmaster's office at a late hour fully intending to inform Osmond of this important discovery.


	5. Chapter 4 - The Professor

**Chapter 4 - The Professor**

**Hey guys, here is chapter 4. As the title suggests, this chapter focuses heavily on information and the mechanics of how a spell is cast. Not much else to say about it... Oh yeah, your reviews.**

**Erdrick117 - Mikhail is trying to emulate a Pawn but will slip up at times. Without spoiling too much, due to the mechanics of the Sacrificial Bolt, no he will not be able to use it... for now**

**drmonicblood - yes that is what happens**

**Ddragon21 - yes Louise will be able to cast SOME of the Arisen's spells later on**

**For the spells used in this chapter:**

**Magick Bolt cannot be classified in FoZ terms due to it being non-elemental by default. When it is enchanted like with the fire affinity, then it is just a Dot-level spell. Same thing with the Focused Bolt.**

**Have a read, review, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Louise's Room

"Master, it is morning. Please awaken."

"Mmm..."

"Do you not have classes today Master?"

"Nooo... it's the Day of the Void, we have an off today," replied the sleepy pink haired girl.

"Very well. Do you wish to sleep longer or shall we commence work on your spellwork?" asked the white haired man.

That simple question woke Louise up immediately. She quickly got out of bed, put on her uniform, grabbed her wand, and stood in front of Mikhail as if she was a soldier the man was a drill sergeant. Louise looked out the window and noticed that the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. Louise stifled a yawn and then began to walk out her room. The Pawn followed and eventually they entered the Alviss Hall. Louise went over to her usual spot and plopped down, contented that nobody tried to ridicule her. The Pawn took up his usual spot behind his Master and a little to the left. A maid laid out some breakfast in front of Louise, bowed and then left.

Louise finished her breakfast set off with her familiar.

"Master, where are we going today?" asked Mikhail.

"We are going to the courtyard so that you can help me cast. Did you already forget?"

"No, Master. Lead the way."

Both Master and Pawn walked around for a while until they reached an empty courtyard. Louise turned around and asked, "So, how are you going to help me?"

Inspecting the empty lot, the Pawn worked out the schedule of teaching his little Master. "Hmmm, I think that this area should be adequate for the theoretical aspect of your learning, but we should find a better place when you practice as to not disturb anyone Master."

"Why do I need to learn about magic? I already know all about it, I just can't do it!" Louise was frustrated. She was the best in her class at magical theories. Surely there was no point in trying to learn what she already knew.

"Master, please understand. I do not mean to insult you but you do not have the necessary knowledge of the magical arts. This is evidenced by the class that I sat in yesterday. The professor speaks as if magic is limited to only the elements when in fact the is much more. Magic is limitless. By learning more about magic, you will be better at the manipulation of it." At this, Mikhail activated his Rift Crystal and pulled out a table; complete with a quill, inkwell, and a blank book. He set the table in the center of the courtyard and gestures to Louise, "Please take a seat Master."

Louise looked at the man, shocked at him nonchalantly pulling a table out of no where as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "H-how did you do _that? _I've never seen somebody do that before, even with magic. You just pulled it out of no where!"

"Ah yes, I never told you about this," Mikhail said while holding out a purple orb about the size of a door knob, "This is a Rift Crystal. It is connected to my treasury in the Rift that holds all of my belongings. By using this, it allows me to retrieve any of my items at any time I wish."

"And you have a table? In your treasury?"

The man looked back at Louise and nodded, "I've been meaning to get rid of it but due to reasons, I never got around to it."

Sighing at the absurdity of having a simple wooden table in a treasury, Louise walked over to the table and sat down on the ground after Mikhail laid down a cloth. She picked up the quill, dipped it into the inkwell and prepared to write at the already opened book. Before Mikhail could start the lesson, a busty red haired girl and a short blue haired girl walked by. They noticed Louise sitting in the courtyard and wondered over, intent on finding out what she is doing. The blue haired girl was reading a book while following the red haired girl, seeming to have been dragged along instead of following.

"Hey Louise, what are you doing out here?" asked the busty girl.

"What do you want Zerbst? And good morning Tabitha." Louise felt like she had to at least acknowledge the bookworm. Tabitha briefly tore her eyes away from her book to nod at Louise.

Mikhail chose that time to pull out an ancient looking book, ignoring the bickering that resulted from Louise and Kirche, and crack it open. Tabitha's eyes darted towards the book that Mikhail held in his hands, wondering how the book seemed to have simply appeared in his hands. Because of her short stature, she had a clear view of the cover, but sadly, the blue haired girl could not read it. An unknown language. The characters looked vaguely familiar but were too different for her to comprehend. The book was then promptly snapped shut and then disappeared. Her eyes traveled up and found that the man was also looking at her, studying and analyzing her. She locked eyes with the man and a staring contest ensued.

"Mikhail! Ignore them and let's begin already!" Louise had decided to call her familiar by name after all of yesterday's events.

"Master, I would like for this one," the white haired man gestured to Tabitha, "to sit in on our lesson. She seems to be the intellectual type and may provide some insightful advice on helping you."

"If Tabitha joins you, then I will too." Kirche walked over to the table and sat to the right of Louise and in close proximity to Louise to annoy her. Tabitha looked up at the man. She then also walked over to the table and sat down to the right of Kirche, her crooked staff to her right. Mikhail produced two more sets of writing material and set them before each of them.

"Feel free to take notes if you wish," he said to the two girls. "Now then, from what I heard yesterday, the magic in this land is divided into five elements and by using a combination of those five, one can produce more spectacular effects. Is that correct Master?"

Louise nodded and said, "That's a very simplified version but yes, that is correct."

"Alright. Now who created this system of magic?"

Kirche's hand shot up and she waved it around like a child desperately wanting to be called on in class. Mikhail, feeling like an actual teacher, pointed at the girl.

"The Founder Brimir created it about 6000 years ago. He is also the first and only user of the lost element Void," explained Kirche.

"6000 years? That's quite a long time. And nothing changed from then until now, is that correct?"

Tabitha, who is still reading her book, nodded. With a deep exhale, Mikhail's mental schedule for teaching Louise just got longer.

"Ok then, I guess we'll just skip the introduction and move right to the casting theory if we want to get in any practical trials. Miss... Sorry, I never caught your name," Mikhail asked the blue haired girl.

"Oh yeah, this is my friend Tabitha," explained Kirche. Tabitha nodded at that while continuing to read. Mikhail also nodded at that and continued where he left off.

"Miss Tabitha, if you could please cast a simple spell," the Pawn then pulled out a rusted shield and stuck it into the ground ten yards from the table, "at this. I would like to observe the moment a spell is released from the foci."

Tabitha closed her book and stood up. She positioned herself in front of the shield and then casted a small icicle, shooting it from the tip of her wand into the shield. Upon impact, the shield flipped and bounced off the ground, flying five yards away. Mikhail watched intently from start to finish. When the blue haired girl was done, she went back to her seat and pulled out her book and resumed reading.

"Hmm, the casting is similar but there seems to be something that makes it more dangerous to the caster. Please explain how you would normally cast to me Master."

Louise, who had remained silent until now explained, "We gather our willpower into the foci and then release it in the form that we desire. Usually, the magic takes the form of our elemental affinity because it is dramatically easier to cast that than another element. Tabitha combined water and wind magic to produce ice."

"Willpower? And how long does it take for one to recover if the deplete their willpower?"

"If one totally depletes their willpower reserves, it will take from a week to several months to recover their willpower, depending on the mage. Sometimes, total depletion of willpower can cause death," said Louise.

"Ah, now I get it. This 'willpower' that you use is actually something similar to your life force. That is why death can be a result and why it takes so long to recover. Actually, this might also be why the mages here have a difficult time casting different elements. Each person's life force is different after all."

Mikhail frowned. He always knew that the arcane arts was dangerous if not used correctly, but whoever this Brimir was, he had made an extremely dangerous system of magic mainstream. "Please refrain from using this type of casting from now on Master. It is too dangerous. Instead, I will teach you a much safer way to cast."

The girls, including Tabitha, was surprised to have learned that. To have been using one's own life force to fuel spells did sound like a bad idea. Mikhail walked towards the shield placed back where it used to be, a little deeper into the ground this time so it won't be sent flying again. He then walked back towards the girls before he summoned his archistaff. "I will now be showing you a very simple spell Master. Because of its simplicity, it does not have an incantation."

The Sorcerer pointed his archistaff towards the shield and fired a small orb of pure magick. "This spell is called the **Magick Bolt. **Unless enchanted, this spell does not have an element attached to it. In other words, it is a non-elemental spell. To cast it, one simply has to charge their foci with magic and then release it. To cast any spell, gather the ambient magic in the air, also known as the eiss, into the tip of the foci using one's inner magic, commonly referred to as mana, while saying an incantation. By focusing one's mana into the tip of a foci, it attracts the eiss, allowing for the foci to absorb it. The mana and eiss then mix and produce a spell accordingly to the caster's incantation. This means that the caster is only using a small portion of their own mana and relying more on the eiss. The more mana used, the faster a spell is casted. However, this also means that one's reserves are used up at a faster rate. If the caster is in an eiss-deprived area, they can use purely mana to power their spells." Mikhail had somehow gotten hold of a chalkboard and started drawing pictures to further explain the lesson.

"Mana is very dangerous when it exits the body," he continued. "If a person overloads their foci with mana, a backlash occurs. The mana rushes back into the caster's body, causing tremendous amounts of pain. Hmm, imagine the pain when you gulp down just a bit too much water at once. Now multiply that pain by a thousand and you will know how it feels like. If one is not careful, eiss might also be forced into the body as well. Like air, it sustains life when in moderation but poisons when in excess.

Unlike willpower, mana is linked to one's physical stamina. That link actually makes it really easy to increase one's mana reserves; all that one has to do is to physically train. The amount of mana a person has is directly proportional to their physical fitness. A healthier person will have a larger reserve.

Because mana is not linked to one's life like willpower is, upon depletion the user is only left physically exhausted and will recover within a few minutes to an hour given rest. Eiss is absorbed into the body by breathing and is then gradually converted into mana while inside your body. I hypothesize that due to the denser amounts of eiss here, a caster will be able to recover even faster than what I am use to. If one does not let their mana reserves recover, then they will be unable to cast any spells unless they use their willpower. Now then, please give the **Magick Bolt** a try Master."

Louise, who had been jotting down some notes hastily stood up to give it a try. When she got into position, she pointed her wand at the shield. Then she realized something.

"Umm, how do I actually use this 'mana'? You never explained how," asked the pink haired girl.

If Mikhail was not trying to act like a proper Pawn, he would have hit himself on the forehead. 'Of course, how could I forget that,' he thought.

"To tap into your mana reserves for the first time, you must get a feel for it inside your body. The best way to feel it is to get physically exhausted. Let's move this lesson to a different area. Please keep up with me." Mikhail then grabbed the table, shield, and chalkboard and returned them to his treasury. The girls picked up their materials and followed the Pawn-turned-professor.

.

.

The group had jogged out of the courtyard and moved closer to the forest that surrounded the academy. By the time that they stopped, both Louise and Kirche were out of breath. Tabitha did not even break a sweat; she had also continued to read all the time they were jogging. Mikhail only took out the rusted shield this time and forcefully embedded it into a tree.

"Now that you are properly exhausted, try to feel the eiss entering your body. The eiss will have a slight healing effect on your body as it is converted into mana. There should be a slight prickly feeling throughout your body. That is the mana. It will feel more dense closer to the center of your body. That is where your mana is pooling up. Do you feel it Master?"

With deep breaths, Louise closed her eyes and focused on feeling her mana. When she did, she was surprised to find that her entire torso and some of her appendages felt dense with mana. Finally having a feel for it, Louise nodded.

"Whoa! This feels so weird," exclaimed Kirche. She had also paid attention to Mikhail's lecture and decided to give it a try. Tabitha, who also gave it a try, nodded in agreement.

The blue haired girl, despite constantly looking at her book, had paid extra close attention to the lecture of the Pawn. At first it was only to determine the true character of this strange mage, but she soon found herself taking mental notes on the foreign magical theories. By the ways that the white haired mage had described it, his method of casting was actually quite similar to the widely used method of casting. This means that anything currently done by the usual method could also be done with this new method and with less costs. Quite intriguing.

Mikhail responded, "Yes, it will feel weird or even uncomfortable at first but it will eventually feel normal. To cast, imagine that your mana is water inside of a container, your body. Slowly guide it towards your foci and let it pool there. Remember to not let too much gather there though. Keep imagining that your mana is water. You will start to notice something mixing in with it. That is the eiss being absorbed by your foci. When the spell is ready to be cast, you will feel the 'water' start to 'boil'. Release it then and you will cast a spell. The type of spell that is casted and the casting time is dependent on the incantation. Stronger spells require a longer incantation and a longer casting time. If you can control it, you can also keep the spell primed in your foci instead of casting it right away. Now then, Miss Kirche, if you would, please cast a spell at the shield using the mana casting method."

Kirche reached into her bosom and pulled out her wand. She then chanted a simple fire spell and sent a fireball flying towards the shield. Kirche was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to cast using this mana method. "Well, looks like I will be using this method more often."

Louise, feeling encouraged at the remarks of Kirche at how easy it was, positioned herself in front of the rusted, now burnt shield. She pointed her wand at the shield and followed all the necessary steps to cast a simple fire spell using the new method.

The shield exploded.

Louise felt extremely disappointed. Then in a surge of rage, she turned towards the white haired Pawn and screamed, "I thought you said that I could cast using this method! Look! It just exploded like usual! I could already do this without your special 'mana' and 'eiss'!"

Instead of being put off by his Master's sudden rage, Mikhail simply formulated a new hypothesis. "Hmm, you tried to cast a fire spell, correct? Try to cast a **Magick Bolt **instead."

Louise, still feeling like she was lied to, decided to try one of her familiar's spells instead. She felt her mana reserves in her body and guided it just like how her familiar had explained it. She quickly felt the spell become ready and then released it.

Another explosion.

"Oh _come on!_ I did it just like how you taught it and yet another explosion. Your stupid mana method is not working!" exclaimed the Zero. She was beyond frustrated at this point. She just wanted to quit for today and head to bed early, wishing for the day to be over. It wasn't even noon yet!

Despite all of this, Mikhail added the new information gained from observing his Master cast to his experiment. Finally, the Sorcerer acted. He walked up to Louise and took her wand out of her hand. He inspected it, noting the plainness of it before handing it back. He then placed his palm onto her forehead.

"What are you doing stupid familiar?! Are you even listening?!"

"I am trying to help you cast Master. Please cast one more time for me and I will be able to discover the reason as to why you can't cast. With that knowledge, I will then be able to remedy this problem," explained Mikhail. Mikhail then released a minuscule amount of his own mana into Louise, so little that even an expert at the magical arts wouldn't be able to detect the foreign magic entering their body. Louise heaved a great sigh and gave it one more go, already expecting another explosion. And another explosion resulted.

"Great news Master! I have uncovered the reason to your inability at casting magic!" reported the man.

"Really? You're not lying to me now are you?" inquired the pink haired girl.

"Hah! You really think that the Zero could cast magic properly? She has tried to do it for the past six years to no avail and now you're saying you can fix that? I'll believe it when I see it," snorted Kirche.

Tabitha, ever the quiet one simply narrowed her eyes at the white haired mage's remark. To others, this might have seemed like a sign of aggression or annoyance, but to the red headed girl, this meant that Tabitha was truly curious as to whether or not it could be true.

Mikhail took out his Rift Crystal, activated it, and then a long thin staff appeared. The staff was as long as Mikhail was tall and made of an exquisite type of wood. At the top, the staff was visibly layered with two protrusions curving downwards for a short distance. It looked like a slim anchor.

"This magick staff is called the Anchor to Heaven. It is great for focusing magickal power. After a series of tests, I have discovered that you have an unprecedented large amount of raw mana for one your age. Your reserves are so huge that they are most likely one of if not the largest in this entire country. Usually, mana reserves are proportional to physical stamina, but you are an anomaly. Because of your huge reserves, you are unable to contain your mana. At the very last second, right before you release the spell, extra mana rushes through your foci and causes the spell to destabilize. This causes a magickal overload and an explosion ensues. I will need to do more research into this in order to find out why you have such huge mana reserves. Anyways, with this magick staff, you will be able cast any spell that you are currently capable of."

Mikhail walked over to Louise and handed her the staff. Louise, unused to the long staff held it awkwardly and tried to cast a **Magick Bolt. **Her mana was gathered at the tip of the staff and then released. Mana surged through the staff, the special wood easily conducting the mana from Louise's hand towards the tip, intending on being released as well but was held back by the enchantments of the Anchor to Heaven. A small orb of pure magick was released from the tip of the staff and flew towards the shield; however, it missed by a wide margin.

Louise didn't care that she missed. She had just casted her very first successful spell! She repeated the steps and chanted a simple fire spell. From the tip of the staff emerged a small ball of fire, flying towards the shield, again missing by a wide margin. Louise giggled. Louise laughed. Louise cackled! Magic! Louise, the Zero, did magic!

Meanwhile, Kirche was stunned. Louise had actually successfully casted a spell. She then let a smile break out across her face. 'Looks like she is no longer the Zero. Heh no more teasing about that I guess.'

Tabitha was surprised. This white haired mage, in just two days, had accomplished what professors and tutors had failed to do for years. Help Louise cast a spell. Well, Tabitha wasn't too surprised. The man had sensed her spying on him during the first night and had displayed an overwhelming amount of power when he dueled Guiche. It was clear to any adequate mage that the man had held back severely when he fought against the playboy.

While rejoicing in the fact that she could cast now, Louise tripped and fell over. "Oww..."

"Perhaps the Anchor to Heaven is a tad too big for you Master," Mikhail said as he tried to take away the staff. Louise, however, held onto the staff for dear life. She would not let her only way to cast properly slip away now if she could help it. With some effort, Mikhail managed to pry the staff away from Louise and she put on a depressed face. "Master, if you could take me to one who makes wands, I could provide them with the wood of the Gransys Oak, the same that is used for the Anchor to Heaven, and instruct them on the how to engrave the enchantments. This way, you could have a wand with the same capabilities as this staff."

Louise's face brightened once more and grabbed Mikhail by the wrist, pulling him towards the stables.

"Let's go! Let's go to the best wand maker in all of Tristain!" Louise said, practically radiating joy. When they reached the stables, Louise finally let go of Mikhail's wrist.

'For such a petite girl, she sure has a strong grip,' he thought as he massaged his wrist. Louise, followed by two horses approached Mikhail.

"Come on, I'll lead the way to Tristania, the capitol of Tristain!"

And so the two of them departed, with Mikhail having difficulty riding the horse, or "four-legged demon" according to Mikhail. Kirche and Tabitha secretly tagged along.


	6. Chapter 5 - The Sword and Wand

**Chapter 5 - The Sword and Wand**

**Hey guys, here is chapter 5 of Zero's Dogma. In here, I try to describe how the countries of FoZ are laid out based on a map in the manga. I also tried to add more to the map of Gransys because there isn't much information on the lands beyond it. All of the lands that I said are neighboring Gransys are actually real in DD, but are not really explained so I tried. The Atlas Mountains is something I made up. Sitnalta is what I called the mainland and the Leonart Empire is the government there. So yeah if anything is incorrect, let me know and I will try to fix it. Also the wand maker is an OC. I'll try not to introduce too many OCs and stick to canon characters. The store is called The Magician's Respite in English and I used Google Translate for it because I don't speak French (if it's grammatically incorrect, blame Google). I also gave you guys a glimpse into the Arisen's history. In-game Arisen's back story is relatively empty so I created my own. On to your comments!**

**Incoqnito - Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that. Well, I did mention that eiss is poisonous and that mana backlash hurts like a b****. And thank you tremendously for recommending that website. It will come in handy for future chapters.**

**Ddragon21, Schattenlos, and TheDarkSpade- It always bothered me as to why ****others can cast at least Dot-level spells of different elements but she can't. And here we are, she can now cast some Dot-level spells like the others.**

**As always, read, comment, enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero**

* * *

On the Road - to Tristania

Louise and Mikhail had been riding for the past hour in silence; Louise was too preoccupied with imagining the worst of fates for he ones who ridiculed her now that she can do magic, and Mikhail was taking in his surroundings and making a mental map to avoid future mishaps. This was his first time outside of the academy grounds and everything was freshly unexplored for him. This was also his first time ever riding a horse. Sure, he has seen some in Cassardis, but he has never rode one until now, he used to be a fisherman to earn money. This was also the last time he would ever ride one if he had his way. How his Master could ride these things for hours on end was a mystery to him. The surroundings were pleasant, vast open stretches of green pastures and a few trees here and there. The bright sun brought out even more of this land's charm. This peaceful scenery reminded the Pawn of better times, when all you had worry about was not falling into the deeper parts of the ocean, not chasing down dragons, traversing through catacombs to face cults, crossing the ocean to explore a desolate isle, descending through the depths of Gran Soren, or facing the Maker itself.

Mikhail was brought of his reverie when his Master asked him a question "Hey Mikhail, where did you learn how to do magic? Because a capable mage like yourself should have been well known or at least have a reputation."

"I started my endeavors in the magicks when I was young with a friend and some dusty ancient tomes. We were the best in our little village. When we were older, he left the village to pursue higher levels of magick while I stayed to repay the village chief for all of his help when we were growing and to help protect the village." Mikhail still remembers his friend, the guy was a genius. He found ways to cast Sorcery spells even though he had well below average levels of mana. He had published several papers that changed the magickal world and was even the leader of the Duke's personal council of Sorcerers and scholars later on.

"So you are a self-taught mage then?" Louise hummed. She had never heard of a self-taught mage of this caliber before. Her familiar had never talked about himself before so it was a surprise to find out that this mage had such an upbringing. Nevertheless, this man had helped her cast magic so his poor upbringing was soon forgotten in favor of learning more about him.

Noticing her familiar avidly looking around, Louise just had to ask "Are you new to Tristain? Where are you from?"

"Yes Master, I am new to the country of Tristain, I have never even heard of Tristain before."

"Never heard of Tristain!? Even though we are not the strongest country, everyone at least knows of it! What kind of backwater village did you grow up in? Don't tell me that you don't know about Gallia, Albion, or Germania either."

"I also do not know of those countries as well. If you could explain them to me, it would be greatly appreciated Master."

Louise sighed. How could such a great mage be so ignorant of the world? Resigning herself to explaining this to her familiar, she raised her index finger, lifted her chin and began to explain.

"The Kingdom of Tristain is relatively small compared to the other countries, however we are still a vital center for trade and commerce among the countries. To the east is the massive Kingdom of Germania. They boast the biggest infantry in all of Halkeginia due to their huge population. To the south is the Kingdom of Gallia. They are relatively peaceful and involved in a lot of trade, especially in ores. South of Gallia lies the Holy Empire of Romalia. That is the center of the Brimiric religion. And then finally, the Kingdom of Albion is on an island off the coast of Halkeginia, to the west of Tristain. Albion is actually not a regular island but a floating island."

"A floating... island? How is that even possible?" Through all of his life, Mikhail had never heard of a floating island, he never even knew that was a thing. If he had known, life might have been more fun.

"Although there are many theories, the most widely accepted one is that the levels of windstones underneath Albion grew to such an extent that one day it just floated to the sky and never came back down. That is why the only way to reach the country is via flying ships."

"Flying ships..." Mikhail whispered. This new land was just full of interesting things. Nodding his head, he was determined to one day convince his Master to journey around the country just so that he can explore all of it.

"You never answered my question. Where are you from?" the pink haired girl asked.

Pondering for a second, Mikhail began to explain the land of Gransys, "I was raised in the small fishing village called Cassardis in Gransys. The village was self-sufficient, but due to an unfortunate incident, it became a territory of Gransys.

The Duchy of Gransys is ruled by Duke Edmun Dragonsbane. Gransys has the ocean to the east and south. Further east of Gransys's oceanic coast is the huge Kingdom of Meloire. To the northwest of Gransys is the Kingdom of Hearthstone. To the west is the Duchy of Liore and north of Gransys is the Grand Duchy of Voldoa. Liore and Gransys lie on the Liogran Peninsula and is separated from the mainland by a massive mountain range called the Atlas Mountains. All of these countries are allied with each other and report to the Leonart Empire on the mainland."

Louise had never heard of these lands before. Then a thought hit her: east of Halkeginia lies the Sahara Desert and past that is the mysterious land of Rub' al Khali. Was her familiar from there? No one knew anything concrete about those lands so it is possible.

"Are those lands in Rub' al Khali?" Louise asked, hopeful that she might have brought a high ranking mage from an unknown land.

"No Master. They are in the continent of Sitnalta."

With that, an awkward silence consumed Louise. Mikhail was oblivious to that and went back to observing his surroundings.

* * *

Tristania, Capital of Tristain

The duo finally arrived in Tristania. Mikhail was amazed by the sheer size of the city. Gran Soren pales in comparison. Tristania, like Gran Soren was srrounded by huge walls, but unlike Gran Soren, Tristania was way bigger. Mikhail speculated that it was at least five times bigger. Tristania was also more heavily populated, the streets were jammed pack with people milling about. All of the buildings were at least two stories tall and all of them were made of stone. The cathedral was hard to miss, it was one of the tallest buildings in the entire city. It was also one of the most gorgeous buildings there. Mikhail was never one for art, but the artistic details on the building were admirable and noteworthy; it seemed to be made entirely out of white marble. The gate that Louise and Mikhail entered was decorated and had a lot of servants running about. Every person who entered the same entrance wore extravagant clothing, Mikhail assumed that this was where the rich people entered. Louise led them both to a small stable where a stable boy took their horses.

As Louise led the two of them through the stone-paved streets, Mikhail was busy looking around him once again. The city was bright and vibrant. Eventually, Louise led them to a small store with.

"Here we are! This store is called _La relève de The Magician_. It is owned by the Sauveterre family, who also have close ties to my family. In fact, all of the specialized wands that my family has was made by the Sauveterres. Ok! Let's go in and get my new wand!" Louise practically skipped inside the building with a wide grin on her face.

The insides of the store betrayed its humble exterior, it was absolutely stunning! Well, to a user of magic at least. There were all sorts of magical trinkets and artifacts, grimoires of all kinds, and a variety of foci from a simple wooden wand to magnificent staff to an ornate looking jewel. Everything that a mage could hope for was stocked in this small store. Mikhail tried not to let the stunning display show on his face, although he was slowly following Louise like a child in a candystore, ogling at all of the products as they pass. However, Mikhail could spot the discreetly placed runes on the walls, probably a feature to prevent theft.

Louise walked right up to the front counter and ringed a small bell. Immediately a tall, orange haired lady wearing a green tunic and black apron emerged from a door behind the counter.

"Hello! How may I he- Louise! How are you?" squealed the lady. "It's been such a long time. How is everyone back at the estate? I know that your father said that we didn't need to but we really appreciate the help in setting up our business so you get a discount."

Louise was still smiling, but this time she smiled at seeing an old friend. "Adrienne, it's nice to see you again too. I'm feeling better than ever! And everyone back at the estate is fine."

Mikhail, finally regaining focus, took up his position behind and slightly to the left of Louise. He studied the lady. Sweaty brows, hair tied back, saw dust on the apron, thick gloves. She seemed to have been working on something before coming out to greet his Master. His Master was genuinely happy to meet this lady and vice versa. Then, a tall burly man emerged from the same door as the lady. The man was sporting what seemed to be a permanent scowl, that is until he saw Louise. His faced quickly morphed into a grin that stretched from ear to ear, showing off his pearly whites, and still managing to look scary.

"Louise!" the man boomed "Hahaha! It is nice to see you again!"

"Ah, Dmitri, it is nice to see you too." Louise's smile grew wider, almost as if to compete with Dmitri's wide grin. The three chatted for a few minutes, forgetting that there was a fourth person in the room. That was fine with Mikhail, just listening to these people talk was quiet enjoyable.

.

.

It was about 30 minutes later when Adrienne finally asked the question with a smirk, "So, who is this hunk behind you?"

Louise turned around and saw that her familiar was just standing there, unmoving and staring straight ahead. She then mentally slapped herself for forgetting about what they were there for.

"Oh, right. This is my familiar Mikhail. This brings me back to the reason why we're her."

"You mean you weren't here just to visit an old lonely couple?" Adrienne said in a hurt tone.

"N-no no, we came to visit you too!" Louise added quickly.

"Haha, she's just kidding lass, no need to worry about us being lonely, if you know what I mean" Dmitri said while waggling his eyebrows. He then received a well deserved punch from Adrienne on the shoulder. The lady was visibly blushing but quickly settled down.

Mikhail had learned from the conversation that Adrienne and Dmitri were wed just a year ago and were, surprisingly, only in their mid-to-late-20s. Adrienne, Mikhail could understand because she still looked young, but Dmitri was a whole different story. He had tanned skin and bulging muscles, and his permanent scowl made him look like he was at least a decade older. The Pawn had also found out that the couple were, indeed, the best wand makers in the entire country. Their wands were also highly sought after in other countries although they weren't sold outside of Tristain. With the help of the Valliere family, the couple could finally open their own shop. Before then, they were servants of the Vallieres.

"I want you to create a specialized wand for me," said Louise.

"A specialized wand, eh... Ok, I'll move you to the top of the list just because it's you. It's the least we could do to repay back your family" said Dmitri. He then took out a catalog containing the pieces of a wand that could be used to make a new wand.

"Actually, I want you to create one accordingly to how my familiar describes it."

"Ooh? Is he a wand maker too?"

"No, he isn't, but there must be special runes engraved on it to make it how I want it. He also has a special type of wood that I want the wand to be made out of."

"Ok then, Mister Mikhail," Adrienne started "How should it be done?"

Mikhail grabbed the Gransys Oak from his treasury and handed it over. "This wood is called the Gransys Oak. It is extremely light as you can tell. The wood is really dense despite that. Shape it into a wand and then engrave these runes," he handed over a piece of paper with the runes written on it "exactly how it is, running down the wand from tip to handle. Oh, and embed this stone on the tip of it." The white haired man handed over a perfectly round purple crystal.

Dmitri examined the wood for a minute before saying "Alright, we'll be done in about three hours. Come pick it up then."

"We'll be back later." said Louise. The couple went through the door to their workshop while Louise and Mikhail left to explore the city.

.

.

"Master, is there a place that buys or sells weapons nearby? I would like to sell some of my weapons and possibly get some new ones." Mikhail asked. Truthfully, Mikhail's "treasury" was more like a dump. Back in Gransys, he collected just about everything he could for no reason other than that he could. This led to him owning even a rusted sword that was worthless.

Louise was still happy so she simply nodded and motioned for him to follow. They walked for several minutes until they entered a dark alley. Then they stopped in of a store with a shield and sword on a sign. They entered.

"Welc- oh hello there. As you can see, we are a legitimate business, no funny business here." The shopkeeper smiled nervously while repeatedly rubbing his hands pants.

'If this is his best at faking a legitimate business than he needs to stop. He is a stain on all dealers' thought Mikhail. 'Mountebank could teach him a thing or two.'

Louise walked right up to the man, putting on a scowl due to how run down the shop was on the inside, "Do you buy weapons?"

"A-ah yes Madam," the man stuttered. Mikhail took this as a cue to start negotiating prices for his weapons. Even though he had millions of gold, the currency in Gransys is unlikely compatible with Tristain's. However before he could, he heard a soft snicker. Mikhail looked around, but he couldn't see any body else. The snicker evolved into a full blown laugh.

"AHAHAHAHA! Looks like you can't 'work your magic' on this little girl!" said a voice. Mikhail followed the voice until he reached a barrel full of rusty swords. He narrowed the laughter down to one rusted steel sword. The sword was still laughing, visibly moving up and down in its sheath. If it had a body, it would probably be bent over laughing. "Oh boy, haven't laughed like that in a _loooong _time. Thanks for that kiddo!"

Mikhail kept looking at the talking sword. And then he gripped it and gently took it out of the barrel. As soon as he touched the sword, Mikhail felt foreign mana rush through him. All information regarding the usage of a sword appeared in his head in an instant. It was not useful in any way for the Pawn already knew all of this, however the buff that this foreign magic source was welcomed. He felt just a little bit lighter and stronger. Deciding to study this phenomenon later, Mikhail refocused on the sword. He unsheathed the blade and frowned at how rusted it was. He returned the sword back into the sheath and then walked over to the shopkeeper and said, "I'll take this sword."

"Oi, what's the deal old man? You don't just 'take' me," the sword angrily said at the Pawn.

Mikhail then took out a thin rapier from his treasury and set it on the counter, "I'll trade for it. This is a Silver Rapier. Acceptable?"

The shopkeeper, glad to be taken back into familiar territory, picked up the Silver Rapier and inspected it. He was shocked to find out that the rapier was really made out of high quality silver and the engravings on the hilt and basket of the sword were of superb quality. A sword like this could easily go for 1000-1500 ecu. 'What kind of fool would trade this kind of sword for a scrap of rusted metal' thought the shopkeeper, 'Whatever, his loss.'

With a brilliant smile, the shopkeeper agreed, "Very acceptable."

Louise was stunned. Even though she wasn't knowledgeable on swords, she knew that the Silver Rapier was definitely high quality. And Mikhail was just going to hand it over for that rusted sword? 'Does he even know how valuable that silver sword is?' Louise thought.

Mikhail walked over to Louise and noticed her staring. He was puzzled as to why for a moment and then realized that, yes, to the unknowing, it looked like he just handed over mansion and received an outhouse in return. "Master, don't worry. I know how expensive the Silver Rapier is and how it could fetch a high price. Relax, I still have a lot of them, and truthfully, I'm the one who got the better deal out of this exchange."

"So you _do _know how great I am huh old man," the sword said. If it had a mouth, it probably would have smirked. Having somebody who could finally realize just how great he was made the sword's mood lighten up. "Well, clean out your ears and listen up because you're only going to hear this once: I am the great Derflinger. I gladly accept you as my new partner."

"Likewise Derflinger," replied Mikhail.

.

.

Outside of the store, Kirche and Tabitha were secretly observing the duo. While Kirche was simply ogling the white haired man, Tabitha was still trying to figure out how the mysterious man could pull objects out of nowhere. When Louise and the man started heading towards the door, Kirche dashed away, dragging Tabitha by the neck of her cloak.

.

.

Louise and Mikhail returned to _La relève de The Magician__. _When they entered, Mikhail was pounced on by Dmitri. "Where did you get this type of wood boyo? It is wonderful!"

"From my homeland. Do you want more?" Mikhail pulled out an entire stack of the Gransys Oak and some seeds. "You can have these free of charge. These are seeds of the Gransys Oak. Just treat them like any other tree and it should grow flawlessly."

Dmitri picked Mikhail up in a bear hug and spun him around while laughing. "You'll make me a rich man sonny. Thank you!"

Adrienne had given the wand to Louise and was talking to her, so she was unable to stop her husband. When Mikhail was finally put down, her stumbled over to the two women, Dmitri went to put the wood away.

"Master, please try out the wand and see if it works," the Pawn said, struggling to remain standing from all the spinning. Louise chanted a simple fire spell and it worked flawlessly. She grinned and hugged Mikhail as well.

After some parting words, the duo left the store, Louise already had a 25 percent discount and the free gift from Mikhail had made the wand free.

* * *

On the Road - to Academy

Louise had named her new wand after her old nickname: The Zero. While Louise was rubbing her new wand on her cheeks, Mikhail was talking to his new sword. "So, when was the last time you got cleaned and polished Derflinger?"

"Just call me Derf. And its been a long time since partner," said the sword. "Why are still this little girl's familiar? Someone like you should be able to be rid of those runes easily."

After only a few words with the sword, Mikhail felt like he could be himself whenever he was talking to the sword, a sort of kinship between the two. "I have chosen to serve this girl with my life. Until I am no longer of use, I will remain faithfully by her side. And just between the two of us, I was bored," Mikhail grinned.

"Heh, it's not everyday when one gets to meet a bored Seneschal who willingly serves a girl."

"By the way Derf, how did you know my true identity? I'm sure that no one here knows about such things." This had bugged him ever since they started talking.

"Hey, I'm 6000 years old here, you're not the first one to have picked me up. Although you are the most unique one."

"I guess," Mikhail smiled sheepishly. "Just so you know, I'm going to be a Sorcerer for most of the time so I won't be using you much. Sorry."

"Relax, partner. Remember that thing that happened in the shop? That was magic stemming from your runes. That means that you can still use me, even as a Sorcerer."

"Huh. I never knew that, thanks Derf."

"No problemo partner."

* * *

Louise's Room

Louise was in bed but she couldn't sleep. Today's events were just too overwhelming for her. She can finally cast magic now! She tossed and turned until she grew sleepy. When the duo had returned, it was already getting late. They stepped into Alviss Hall for a quick dinner and then left for Louise's room.

As Louise began to slip into a deep slumber, a thought appeared in her head.

'Crap! The Evaluation Fair is in a couple days! What am I going to do for it!?'


	7. Chapter 6 - The Fair

**Chapter 6 - The Fair**

**Hey guys. Sorry for not posting a chapter last week. I had to go take a placement exam that day. Once again, sorry. Well, on to the story. In this chapter Louise and Mikhail get ready for the Evaluation Fair. We also see a little more of Mikhail's past. Mikhail also explains the Pawns a little. Yes, I know that Pawns do eventually become more human-like after a while, Mikhail purposely left that part out in his explanation. I theorize that when a Pawn-turned-human dies, they are finally free from the cycle, hence his thoughts. The Magick Archer vocation is the star of this chapter. Now on to your comments.**

**The Harrinator - Thanks a lot for your kind words! I'm doing my best to correct any mistakes before publishing a chapter but somethings just slip through. Thanks again.**

**TheSilentWarden - I'm glad that you're enjoying this story. DD is also one of my favorite games :D**

**As always, read, comment, and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Academy Courtyard - Morning

"Show me what you can do Mikhail," Louise commanded. It was three days before the Evaluation Fair and Louise was desperate. Sure, she had summoned an incredible mage, but she can't just have him do some regular magic. Practically all of the audience, mostly parents of the students here and some other nobles, could do magic. Worse, she had just heard that Princess Henrietta was going to be present for this year's fair. That just rose the stakes even higher for the girl formerly known as the Zero. She needed her familiar to do something special, and what is more special than a mage who could utilize foreign magic? She recalled her familiar's explanations on what he could do, something about vocations. So that is why she was out in the empty courtyard with her familiar.

Of course, every other second year student was also getting ready for the fair as well so nobody was going to bother them, not even Kirche.

"I can do many things, Master. You must be more specific. What exactly do you wish to see me do?" Louise had already explained to the Pawn about the fair when they were walking towards the courtyard.

"I remember you talking about all different kinds of 'vocations' earlier. Show them to me," Louise explained.

'Since this fair is for showing off... Oh! I got it!' Mikhail thought. He then closed his eyes and a bright-purple magick sigil appeared over his head. The sigil descended on him, changing his clothing as it passed down. Instead of his usual white robes, he now wore an elaborate golden armor with a black, gold-rimmed cloak. On his back was dark red recurve bow without the string. The bow had what seemed like thorns curled around the entire weapon and it glowed with a soft purple light. On his sides was a pair of red daggers that had a dragon motif on its handle.

Louise looked at her familiar's new look with puzzlement. She tried to figure out what kind of magic could do that and contemplated asking her familiar to teach her how to do that. It would make dressing up much easier. She was also surprised by her familiar's apparent wealth; he had to be very wealthy to afford a set of golden armor like that.

"So, what vocation are you know?" the pink-haired girl inquired.

"I am now a Magick Archer, Master. Normally, Pawns would not be able to use this vocation, but I am an exception."

"Pawns?"

"Have I never told you?" Louise shook her head. 'Oh man, how could I not remember to tell her that,' Mikhail thought. He mentally gave himself a slap.

"Well, a Pawn is an immortal servant who would gladly offer their lives to do their Master's bidding. While a Pawn may be slain, they can always be called back into this realm through the use of a Rift Stone. Let it be clear that Pawns are not humans, no matter how much they resemble one," Mikhail explained, just barely able to maintain his voice at the end. 'Eclair... At least you are finally free from the endless cycle...'

"So, you're not human?" Louise asked with curiosity audible in her voice.

"Not anymore." After a short pause, Mikhail then began to explain the basics of the **Vocation: Magick Archer **to Louise once more along with how it could be used for the fair. "Basically, if I lower the output of magic from the bow, then it will be relatively harmless and still produce a spectacular show of magic."

Louise nodded in understanding. Mikhail's explanation of what he can do made Louise quickly forget the part about him being 'not human'. She then pondered a bit on what to actually do for the fair. 'Hmm... The magic arrows from the bow will always hit its target even if it moves... And he can target more than one at a time...'

With a snap of her fingers, Louise visibly brightened up. She then motioned for Mikhail to follow her. "Come help me gather the other props for the fair. I have an idea about what I want you to do for it."

Mikhail dutifully followed her and unsurprisingly became the pack mule for the things his Master wanted.

.

.

The Master and Pawn soon returned to the courtyard and placed the props down. Louise, with an apple in her hand, walked several meters away before turning around to command her familiar.

"Mikhail, when I throw this into the air, you shoot it down." Mikhail retrieved the magick bow from his back and got into a ready position. He then pulled back his right hand, as if plucking a bow string. As he drew back his hand, a magic arrow stretched from the handle into his hand, glowing with a purple light. Louise then threw the apple high into the air.

The Pawn never moved the bow to track the apple. Mikhail watched as the apple floated high into the air; a targeting reticle following it up. When it reached the edge of his magic reticle, he released the magic arrow.

Louise watched as the arrow flew straight for a bit. Then it turned upwards. It flew to the still airborne apple and pierced it. Nay, the magic arrow _vaporized_ the apple. When it hit the fruit, the arrow produced a small explosion of lightning, instantly reducing the apple to ashes.

Louise was amazed. She then ran over to the basket of apples and grabbed another. This time, she threw it horizontally and Mikhail once again released an arrow. The arrow, just like its predecessor, homed in on the apple and vaporized it. Louise grinned giddily.

.

.

The Master/Pawn duo continued for a few hours until lunch. When they entered Alviss Hall, Mikhail noticed that the majority of the second year students were missing. Louise explained that most of them were probably going to skip lunch in favor of more practice for the fair. After lunch, the duo once again went to the courtyard to plan out their performance; Mikhail had to change vocations again due to him reverting back into a Sorcerer. It soon got dark and the Pawn showed his Master just how much better it was to see the magic arrows fly in the dark. She wanted to incorporate that into their performance but couldn't due to the fair taking place in the morning.

Louise, thoroughly satisfied with what she had planned for the fair, skipped through the hallways towards her bedroom.

* * *

Tristain Academy of Magic - Front Gates

Two days had flown by for Louise and Mikhail. It was already the day before the fair. Currently, they were standing by the front gates of the academy to welcome the princess along with everybody else. They had been standing there for a while now and some of the students were getting impatient. Louise, however, was getting nervous. Unknown to everyone around her, Louise used to be good friends with the current princess. They had played together when they were young and now that she thought about it, they were practically sisters back then. However, they grew distant as they got older partly due to their expectations within their own families.

"What's wrong Master? You seem nervous," asked Mikhail. Because he was standing behind her, the white-haired man easily noticed her behavior. Mikhail had taken to carrying Derf with him, and right now the sword was strapped to his back. Louise spun around and was about to scold her familiar to mind his own business when she heard a fanfare erupt.

Everyone present immediately stood at attention. The academy gates opened and a convoy of carriages poured in. Before that, though, was a platoon Tristain's Royal Guard, wearing gleaming armor with the Tristainian crest and halberds held high in proud display. Seven carriages flowed through the gates, each decorated nicely but clearly not housing the princess. Another platoon of the the Royal Guard entered through the gates followed by two majestic unicorns pulling a regal looking carriage. This one definitely contained the princess. Besides the Royal Guard pretty much surrounding this carriage, it was also vastly superior in its decoration compared to the others. It was extravagantly designed and gold-trimmed.

Mikhail had never seen a unicorn before. Sure the carriage was a sight to behold, but a _UNICORN!? _That was the more interesting subject to Mikhail.

The convoy then came to a stop. A man wearing some expensive looking clothes took a step away from the main carriage and then announced, "Presenting Princess Henrietta de Tristain!" The man then hastily walked back to the carriage and pulled open the door. Everyone sucked in their breath in anticipation. The entire area was still; even the birds were oddly quiet. And then a figure stepped out of the carriage.

It was an old man.

The mood noticeably dropped below the ground. Derf broke out into a loud laugh before being slammed shut by Mikhail after a glare from his Master. Mikhail, unlike Derf, had been able to restrain his laughter and so avoided his Master's wrath.

"Who's that?" asked Mikhail.

"That's Cardinal Mazarin, the current regent of Tristain until the Princess comes of age," Louise supplied.

Needing no further clues as to what is currently going on with the royal family, Mikhail inferred that the king has passed and the queen is out of commission.

The old man had white hair and wore a black hat with a long white and red robe. He stretched a hand back into the carriage and a feminine hand took it. Then the owner of the hand stepped out of the carriage. It was the princess. The princess had purple hair and wore an immaculate white dress and silver tiara encrusted with three green gems. She also wore a purple cloak.

At the sight of the princess smiling and waving, the crowd gave out a loud roar of happiness. The princess and the old man were immediately surrounded by the Royal Guard as they stepped forwards.

Headmaster Osmond approached them and then knelt down. Everyone else in attendance did so as well. "As Headmaster of the Tristain Academy of Magic, I, on behalf of everyone present, welcome you, Princess Henrietta." The princess acknowledged his words and after a brief conversation, headed towards the academy. As she waved to the crowds, she spotted Louise. This time, she had a genuine smile on her face as she saw Louise wave back.

'So they know each other,' thought Mikhail. He always figured that his Master was from a high-ranking house, but to actually have connections to the royal family? That was a surprise.

Louise waved back at Princess Henrietta when they made eye contact. She felt elated that the princess still remembered her. She watched as the princess walked by and eventually into the academy. After the princess entered, everyone else began to make their way inside.

.

.

The rest of the day had been a blur, everybody was running around for any last minute details or rehearsing for tomorrow. Louise and Mikhail were the latter. However, Louise wanted their performance to be a surprise so they only got in a little practice before the courtyard became full of other students practicing. Louise went to the side and sat in one of the chairs while being served tea. Mikhail, as always, stood by his Master. Kirche, noticing the duo off to the side, approached them with her familiar in tow.

"Hey there Louise, whatcha doing over here?" she asked. Ever since she had seen Louise perform magic, she had been noticeably nicer to the pink-haired girl. The redhead then looked over to the Pawn and gave him wink and blew kisses at him.

* * *

Hallways of the Academy - A Few Nights Earlier

Louise had gone to bed and Mikhail was out exploring again. Even though he had already memorized the entirety of the academy, it was still interesting to see the people who were still up. He had just returned from helping Siesta do the laundry. At first, Siesta had been afraid of Mikhail because she thought that he was a noble as well. Eventually, through a lot of helping out the other staff members, Siesta warmed up to him again.

As he made his way back to his Master's room, the Pawn heard something following him. Before he could turn around to see who it was, he felt something grab his hand and pull him somewhere. Mikhail was about to cast foci-less magic at the attacker, using his own body as the medium, but then realized that it was just Flame, Kirche's familiar.

.

.

During his times alone, he had gotten to know the other familiars. The ones who he knew the most were Kirche's Flame, Guiche's Verdandi, Tabitha's Sylphid, and a bugbear named Louis. Mikhail constantly referred to the bugbear as a vile eye instead. Surprisingly, the bugbear acted just like a puppy craving attention. Mikhail was weirded out by its behavior at first.

When Mikhail first had contact with Sylphid, he didn't feel any connection to the young dragoness as he did with all dragonkin in Gransys.

"_Quid tu, adulescentem dracone_? (How are you, young dragon?)" Mikhail asked in Wyrmspeak.

The blue dragon immediately lit up. It then opened its mouth, as if to speak, but then closed it quickly. She repeated that several times before doing something else. She leapt at him and gave him a massive hug, but then backed away as she saw her Master approach. Tabitha bonked Sylphid on the snout with her staff and then led her away, all the time keeping a studious gaze at the white-haired man.

.

.

Flame pulled Mikhail through the hallways until they reached a door, Kirche's door. Mikhail sighed, finally understanding the situation. Deciding to humor the redhead, Mikhail knocked on the door, and announced his arrival before opening the door. Inside, the room was dark until with a snap of the fingers, dozens of candles were lit. There, on her bed, was Kirche, dressed very skimpily. She beckoned him with her hand while she slowly leaned back onto her bed.

Unfazed, Mikhail simply watched the Germanian's familiar move into a corner. Then, Mikhail looked Kirche in the eye and simply said, "No thanks," and left.

* * *

Courtyard - Back to Present

Mikhail withheld a sigh at Kirche's antics and rolled his eyes. Louise, however, gave a long, drawn-out sigh and responded, "Hello Kirche, is there something you need? Or are you just here to bother Mikhail?"

"Aww, you found me out," Kirche whined sarcastically. "Anyways, what are you doing for the fair tomorrow? Show everyone that you can finally do elementary magic?"

Although she was nicer now, she was still Louise's self-proclaimed rival, and so shots were fired sometimes.

"Shut up Kirche! I'll teach you whose better by winning first place tomorrow! Come on Mikhail, let's go."

"That's the spirit!" Kirche shouted as the Louise and Mikhail walked away.

* * *

Louise's Room - Night

After walking away from Kirche, the duo went to scout out the competition. Safe to say, most of the other students did not really have anything awe-inspiring to show. Louise and Mikhail then wandered around for a bit more, helping out here and there until it was dark.

"... Ok so I when I give you the signal, you release it, got that?" asked Louise. Despite putting on a confident face, she was just as nervous as the next in regards to the fair. To settle down her anxiety, she decided to discuss their performance tomorrow one last time. Then, Mikhail heard a knocking on the door. He raised a hand to signal his Master to be quiet. She looked at him angrily but then heard the knocking as well.

Mikhail walked over to the door and opened it right as the visitor was about to knock again. With the door suddenly gone, the person had instead hit Mikhail on the chest. The person, now identified as a woman, yelped and then jumped back a little.

"How can I help you miss?" Mikhail asked, ignoring the fact that the woman had just used him as a door earlier. The woman's identity was shrouded with a heavy cloak hood.

"Uh..*ahem* I was led to believe that this was Miss Louise's room. Is she in?" replied the mysterious woman.

"She is sleeping. On what business do you wish to seek her attention so late in the night Miss..." Mikhail began before the woman ran past him into the room when she spotted some light approaching.

Acting on instinct, Mikhail grabbed the woman's arm and then pulled her into a hold with a dagger at her throat. "Who are you?" he threatened, his voice immediately steeling itself. He pulled down the woman's hood to reveal a woman with deep-purple hair wearing a tiara.

"Y-Y-Your Highness! Mikhail! Stop that at once!" Louise shrieked when she realized who the mysterious woman was. Mikhail immediately let Princess Henrietta go and sheathed his dagger. He was then pulled away by Louise. "I am terribly sorry Princess. If I had known it was you, I would have intervened sooner! I will accept any punishment you deem," Louise continued while quickly kneeling before the princess. Mikhail just kept an eye on the princess while maintaining a stoic silence. "You kneel too!" Louise commanded Mikhail.

With the order issued, Mikhail knelt down on one knee and lowered his head with his hands on his knee, like a knight bowing to his queen. Princess Henrietta, only just now breaking out of her shock at feeling death so close, looked behind her and then closed the still-open door. She then turned her attention to her subjects before her.

"Please raise your head Louise. The man did nothing wrong," said the princess. Louise did as told and looked up at the princess. The princess was smiling benevolently at her and motioned for her to stand up. However, she deliberately ignored the man who was still kneeling before her.

When Louise stood up, she found it hard to look at her princess in the eyes after what had just occurred. Then, she found herself in a tight hug as the princess launched herself at Louise.

"P-Princess, wha-"

"Oh Louise, it has been far too long. Why not just call me Henrietta like you used to," the princess said.

"I'm honored that you still remember me Prin-" the princess shot Louise a look, "H-Henrietta. What are you doing here so late?"

"Can I not just visit an old friend?" Louise felt happy that Henrietta considered her a friend. "Anyway, who is this man, a secret _lover?_" Henrietta asked sweetly.

"L-L-Lover!?" Louise stuttered, "Founder no! This is just my familiar Mikhail!"

"A human familiar? How odd. Anyway, how are you Louise?" wondered Henrietta. It had been at least six years since she had contact with her friend.

Finally calming down enough to respond, "I-I've been fine Henrietta. As you can see, I will be participating in the fair tomorrow. How about ..."

Mikhail, still kneeling, zoned out of the conversation that the two old friends began to have. While it was nice to see his Master happy like this, he found no enjoyment listening to two young women catching up with each other. Instead, he began to recall his time in the court of Duke Edmun Dragonsbane as a Knight of the Hunt. The Duke had been crazy about people paying him the proper respect. One time, Mikhail and some of the other Knights had to kneel before him for hours and listen to him ramble on about how he needed new curtains because some idiot had torn them down. He was pulled from his thoughts when a soft hand patted him on the shoulder, trying to get his attention. He looked up to see Princess Henrietta smiling at him and urging him to stand. He stayed kneeling until Louise had told him to stand.

Henrietta was pleased to see that the man known as Mikhail was, if nothing else, loyal to Louise. "I'm afraid we got off on the wrong foot," Henrietta started as she extended a hand forward, "I am Henrietta de Tristain."

Mikhail looked at the woman and then her hand and then back at her. "Pleased to meet you, I am Mikhail Ecto Serolius. I apologize for my earlier behavior but please understand that I was only doing my duty as a Pawn: protecting the Master at all costs," Mikhail said as he took the woman's hand and shook it.

Henrietta smiled a little more, "I appreciate your loyalty to Louise. Please continue to diligently look after her."

Mikhail nodded at the princess's words, "Of course."

With that, Henrietta bid the duo a good night and left. Louise sighed and then collapsed on her bed.

* * *

Evaluation Fair Grounds

Kirche bowed to the audience and then left the stage. She had Flame perform several intricately designed fire breaths and the perform some stunts as well. All in all, it was the most impressive performance yet.

Louise and Mikhail were next. As Kirche walked by the two, she winked at Mikhail. The Sorcerer rolled his eyes and followed his Master onto the stage, bringing a basket full of apples along. He set the basket on the left side of the stage and then walked to his Master at center stage. Louise introduced the two of them and then went to the left side of the stage and picked up the bassket. Mikhail closed his eyes and then the purple magick sigil appeared over his head.

"**Vocation: Magick Archer,**" Mikhail switched vocations and then equipped his bow. Louise looked at him and then nodded. She threw an apple high into there air, one after another. Mikhail fired off arrow after arrow, each hitting its mark after traveling in a number of directions, yet never hitting anything except for its intended target and exploding in an array of purple light. He then casted and fired off a **Magickal Gleam **above the stage. The orb of light was like a mini sun and lit up the area even more. Louise dumped the rest of the basket onto the stage. Mikhail fired the **Hunter's Bolt, **one bright yellow arrow flew into the sky, but then rained down as many arrows on the apples. The fruits were incinerated in a beautiful display of light. Finally, Louise tossed a flask of water into the air. Mikhail tracked it as he casted a **Ninefold Bolt. **He released the arrow, the leading arrow hitting the flask, freezing it in midair and the nine other arrows circled around it before hitting it and causing it to explode and look like it was snowing. The orb of light gave out after disappearing with a wave of light, making the snowflakes sparkle even more.

Needless to say, Louise received a standing ovation.

.

.

"How could I not get first place!?" Louise grumbled. In the end, Tabitha and Sylphid had gotten first place with the pair doing an elaborate set of stunts in the air. Right now, Louise was stomping off to her room after she had received second place. Mikhail was trailing behind her, contemplating whether to inform his Master that they were going the wrong way or not. Then, his Master lost her footing when the ground shook. The Pawn quickly scanned the surroundings for the source while helping his Master back onto her feet. Once again the ground shook.

"Over there!" Louise pointed. She then ran off in that direction with Mikhail close behind. When they turned the corner, they saw a huge golem standing there punching the academy wall.

'That thing is huge! Twice the size of a Prisoned Gorecyclops easily!' thought Mikhail.

"Looks like you're out of luck!" shouted the person controlling the giant golem. The golem then turned towards the duo and threw a punch at them.

"Look out, Master!" Mikhail pushed Louise out of harm's way.


	8. Chapter 7 - The Staff of Destruction

**Chapter 7 - The Staff of Destruction**

**Hey guys, here is chapter 7 of Zero's Dogma. This chapter marks the end of Louise's peaceful days. I forgot to mention last chapter but when Mikhail is a Magick Archer, he is wearing the Golden Lion armor set with the Dragon's Tempest and the Dragon's Vein. He doesn't change clothing between the Sorcerer and Mage vocations. I took a few liberties with the effects of some of his skills. He can cast foci-less magic but it takes a toll on his body. I also tried to expanded on some of the lore in DD concerning the BBI weapons. Mikhail can regenerate thanks to the Regenerate Augment. He basically as all of the Augments equipped.**

**Grand Anodyne cannot be classified by FoZ standards.**

**As always read, comment, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Tristain Academy of Magic

"Look out Master!"

"Wha-!" Louise screamed. Louise was pushed out of the way and into safety. Mikhail, however, took the brunt of the attack. "MIKHAIL!"

The golem then raised its fist once more to reveal a downed Pawn.

Louise was stunned. 'Mikhail, dead?' she thought. "N-no, impossible. Get up Mikhail... M-Mikhail... Get up..."

No response from the white-haired man.

"GET UP! I-I ORDER YOU TO STAND UP!"

"...Yes, Master," Mikhail responded. Louise watched as her familiar struggled but eventually stood. Some of his bones were obviously broken, but they started to move back to their proper places. His wounds were also slowly but surely healing.

At the sight of her familiar, Louise regained her composure. Sure, she had been a little grossed out at first, but the emotion faded away as the Pawn returned to normalcy. The man then reached for his bow and summoned a magic arrow. He was still using **Vocation: Magick Archer**.

Mikhail looked through the magic reticle and looked for any magick medallions that held the golem to life. He couldn't find any.

'...Hmm, is the creator still in control of it?' Mikhail wondered. Golems in Gransys were embedded with magick medallions so that the creator does not have to directly control it, giving the golem some semblance of life. 'That makes this much simpler.'

Mikhail readjusted his aim towards the figure atop the golem. He then loosed the magic arrow. The person reacted accordingly and brought the golem's hand up to intercept the arrow. Unfortunately for them, they had never seen a magic arrow before and assumed that it traveled like a regular arrow. Therefore, they were surprised when the arrow _flew around _the golem's hand and almost hit them. Luckily, the person reacted fast enough and created a wall of earth just in time to block the arrow.

Mikhail tsk'ed. He knew that the magic arrows were slower than regular arrows and was betting on surprising the attacker to get an advantage. "I guess we'll do this the hard way," Mikhail mumbled. He then casted **Ninefold Bolt **and fired it.

"What kind of arrow is this!?" the attacker yelled. They maneuvered the golem so that instead of waiting it out, it attacked the arrows. The ice arrows traveled around the fist and flew towards the controller of the golem. While the mysterious attacker was busy trying to avoid the ice arrows, Mikhail was continually firing off more of them.

Louise ran up to Mikhail and after a brief inspection, shouted, "That's probably Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt! He's a wanted criminal! If you can, try to incapacitate him so that we can bring him to justice!"

Mikhail nodded once and then casted a different spell. The normally purple arrow changed colors into a thick, black arrow. He fired the arrow at the golem instead of Fouquet. When it hit, the arrow suddenly expanded and began suck in anything in the general vicinity. It was so powerful that parts of the golem began breaking off and being sucked in, those parts slamming into the golem and breaking off even more chunks. Fouquet, feeling the strong pull of the arrow, immediately grounded himself within layers of earth.

"What was that?" Louise inquired.

"That was the **Vortex Trail**. It has a very strong pull on everything except the caster. Notice how you are also being pulled in despite being far away from it," Mikhail explained.

True to his words, Louise's clothes and hair were flowing in the direction of the black arrow. Seizing the opportunity, Louise pointed her wand at the golem and fired off a few fire spells to no avail. The golem was simply too durable for the small spells.

Mikhail decided to up the ante. He nocked a flaming red arrow and fired it, with the arrow then splitting into five separate arrows. Each of the arrows embedded themselves into the golem's left shoulder.

"Please cast a spell at those red arrows Master," Mikhail asked. Louise nodded in understanding and did as told. When the small fire spells hit the embedded arrows, a huge explosion erupted, and it blew off the left arm.

Louise looked at the Magick Archer with wide eyes. Sensing the incoming question, the man supplied the answer before his Master could ask it, "Those were the **Explosive Volley**. Like its name suggests, they explode."

The golem was now broken down immensely, although it was slowly regenerating. The **Vortex Trail **finally dissipated and Fouquet reemerged from his cocoon of solid earth. He then had the golem try to punch the duo again. Mikhail was prepared this time and easily escaped with Louise. The sudden movement had surprised Louise and show had dropped her wand. When the Pawn stopped and placed Louise back on the ground, the pink-haired Master took out her old wand and prepared to use it. Mikhail went back on the offensive and fired off several magic arrows.

"Fireball!" Louise shouted. She missed the golem entirely and hit the academy wall behind it. The wall exploded, creating a gaping hole. Fouquet, not missing the chance, had the golem position itself by the wall and then he jumped into the building. The golem covered the hole with its massive body and waited. Fouquet soon came back out holding a long box with him.

"Well, this has been a pleasure but I have what I came here to get so I'll be showing myself out. _Adieu,_" Fouquet said before being sucked into his golem. The golem then began to deform like it was melting.

"Damn, looks like he got away," Louise said angrily. The Pawn stared at the pile of earth before him and then faced his Master.

"Are you injured Master?"

"I'm fine."

The other professors finally reached the battle site, wondering what had exactly happened. After explaining what had transpired to here to a professor, Louise and Mikhail had been summoned to the Headmaster's office by Miss Longueville.

* * *

Headmaster's Office

"How could this have happened without our notice? Such a large golem had surely required many days of preparation before it could even have been constructed. Have any of you seen any suspicious person running around lately during your patrols?" Headmaster Osmond asked the crowd of professors before him. To answer the question, all of the professors shook their heads. With a deep sigh, the old sage slumped into his chair. He had been to the site of the battle and personally inspected the Vault for any missing items. Everything had been accounted for except one.

With another deep sigh, Osmond began to speak once again, "In any case, we will need to assemble a team to track down Foquuet. He has stolen a most dangerous artifact and it must be retrieved with all due haste. Who knows what nefarious reasons he could have wanted it for."

"What has been stolen Headmaster?" asked one of the professors.

"The artifact is known as the Staff of Destruction. As its name implies, the Staff is imbued with enough magical prowess to completely destroy anything. It should not be in the hands of a criminal, no matter who they are."

"What does he means Master?" Mikhail whispered.

"Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt has been robbing nobles for a few years now. Although he steals many things, he has never once stolen a life. Every one of his heists had never resulted in the death of anyone," Louise whispered back.

Mikhail nodded and tuned back into the conversation between the Headmaster and the professors.

"Now then, who is willing to track down this criminal and retrieve the Staff?" Osmond asked. When nobody volunteered, Osmond continued, "Is no one brave enough? Do none of you want the honor of bringing Fouquet to justice?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Mikhail watched his Master as she fidgeted a bit. 'No Louise, you are not ready for this quest,' he thought. When he saw that his Master had raised her wand to signal her accepting the quest, Mikhail suppressed a sigh. 'Oh well... At least I'll be there to make sure she is safe. What an ambitious Master I have.'

"Louise? No. You cannot go, it is too dangerous," Professor Colbert scowled. He had been the only one who approached the Headmaster and asked for permission to give chase. The Headmaster denied him permission and deemed his presence at the Academy to protect the students to be more important.

"I was there when Fouquet first attacked and together with Mikhail, we had successfully put Fouquet on the defensive. Because I let him get away, it is my duty to go after him," Louise responded.

"If Louise is going then I am too," Kirche interrupted by opening the door and walking in, raising her wand into the air when she stood by Louise. She had been eavesdropping throughout the entire ordeal. Tabitha followed her inside and raised her staff as well.

"Keeping safe," she said curtly while nodding towards Kirche.

Knowing that their was no changing their minds, Osmond nodded and spoke, "Very well. It is great to know that this Academy has such courageous students like yourselves," his voice then intensified, "_unlike our professors_."

At that, all of the professors turned their heads away, unwilling to look the Headmaster in the eye.

Clearing his throat, Osmond continued, "Miss Longueville has already scouted before hand and determined that the Golemhas drained Foquet. He is most likely taking shelter in an abandoned shed not too far away in the nearby forest. Sadly, the Royal Guard has the safety of Princess Henrietta to worry about and cannot lend any aid for now. Please go prepare yourselves at this moment and meet Miss Longueville at the stables. She'll show you the way."

Louise, Kirche, Tabitha, and Mikhail bowed to the Headmaster and then left to get ready.

* * *

On the Road

Louise, Kirche, and Mikhail were riding in the carriage while Miss Longueville drove it. Tabitha was riding on her familiar, Sylphid. They had been on the road for about half an hour now and were nearing the place where Foquet should be at.

"So how are we going to do this?" Miss Longueville said, "We can't just march in and capture him. Even though he is drained, he _has_ eluded capture for several years now."

"Hmm, what do you think Mikhail?" Louise asked.

"Fouquet is going to be at his most dangerous now. It would not do to put you in danger, Master. I would recommend you to not attract his ire during this upcoming battle for you are not ready to face a Square-class Mage," Mikhail explained. "Based on what I have learned, Tabitha and I will confront Fouquet while Master and Kirche will provide cover for us."

During the ride, Kirche and Tabitha had explained their magical prowess to the team. Well, it was more like Kirche interpreting Tabitha's short answers so that everyone else can understand her as well.

"Miss Longueville, I would like to know about your capabilities so that I can incorporate you into the plan," Mikhail requested.

"Ah yes. Unfortunately, I'm just a commoner so I fear I cannot help in the actual battle. Sorry for not telling you earlier," she replied.

"I see... Then please stay with the carriage."

.

.

Tabitha and Mikhail approached the door to the shed. The shed was small and had given way to the forces of nature. Mikhail was unsure as to how the shed was still standing with how deteriorated it was.

At his signal, Tabitha blew down the door with a gust of wind while Mikhail went in with his archistaff at the ready. The shed was empty except for a table in the center with the stolen box on it. Mikhail slowly went in and inspected the box with the utmost caution.

Just by being near it, Mikhail felt a strange yet familiar feeling.

Grief, Fear, Despair, Dread, Depression, Regret, Hate.

Anger. Rage. Vexation. Indignation. Fury. Resentment.

_Wrath._

'No. It can't be. How can it be here? I was sure that I sealed it away securely,' Mikhail's thoughts were racing. There was only one thing that he could think of to fit the description of the Staff of Destruction. If his guess was correct, then he will need to take drastic measures to ensure it never sees the light of day ever again. He cannot return it to the Academy. It is not safe enough there.

Mikhail slowly undid the intricate seals and opened the box, desperately hoping to be wrong. Sadly, he was right. The box had been heavily enchanted to seal the Staff of Destruction, but it wasn't enough. Even with the seal, one could easily feel the suppressed emotions seeping through. Now that the box was completely open, to say that the emotions poured out would not do it justice. Tabitha, who had followed Mikhail in and was standing behind Mikhail, visibly jumped as if a rod of hot iron was pressed to her back when the box was opened.

Tabitha spun around and looked over Mikhail's shoulder. She looked into the box and saw a bent black and silver staff with red lines running all over it and converging at the tip as if they were blood vessels. The head of the staff resembled an open demonic hand with a blood red crystal in the palm. Inside the crystal was a marking that looked disturbingly like an eye. The marking moved and centered on Tabitha, as if it was staring directly at her.

Tabitha froze. She tried to but couldn't look away. Slowly, she reached towards the staff, as if in a trance. Before she could get to it, Mikhail slammed the box shut and then recasted the seals on it before putting even more seals on it. Tabitha stared blankly at the box before turning her gaze to her outstretched hand. "What?" she asked no one in particular.

"Tabitha, Mikhail! Get out now!" Louise and Kirche screamed. Both Tabitha and Mikhail jumped out of the shed just fast enough to avoid an earthen fist smashing the shed to smithereens. After getting back on their feet, both joined Louise and Kirche on their assault while avoiding any strikes from the golem. The golem was only half the size of the previous one, but it looked far deadlier this time with numerous spikes protruding from its body. Again, the golem did not have any magick medallions on it.

"Master! Fouquet is nearby! Keep an eye out for him!" Mikhail yelled. Although the combined efforts of the three mages and the Sorcerer was admirable, the golem simply kept regenerating and making their progress obsolete. If they wanted to win, they had to strike at the source of the golem instead, namely its creator: Foquet.

'Damn. I don't have enough time to cast my more powerful spells. It's like this golem is permanently in berserk mode,' Mikhail thought. He kept an eye out for the distinctive magic line that connected the golem to its power source, like a metal golem receiving magic from the medallions.

Just then, an idea came to Mikhail. "Master! Use your old wand. Your explosions are much more powerful and should be able to buy us some time!"

Louise glanced over at Mikhail and then back to the golem. Because of their agreed plan, both Kirche and Louise were relatively safe from the golem. Tabitha and Mikhail were seen as the bigger threat so it concentrated most of its attacks at them. Louise, heeding her familiar's instructions, switched to her old wand.

"Fireball!" she shouted. Unfortunately, she failed to hit center mass and blew the golem's right arm off. Before she could cast a second time, the golem turned to Louise and charged.

"Master!" Mikhail yelled. He raced towards Louise, hoping to make it in time. He didn't, but something else did.

A light blue dragon flew done and picked up Louise just in the nick of time before flying over to its master and depositing Louise on the ground. Mikhail changed directions and ran over to Kirche, who had been far enough from Louise that she was safe from the golem's mad charge.

"Kirche! Take this to Tabitha and tell her to escape with you and Master! I'll hold this thing off long enough for you guys to escape before getting to Miss Longueville and fleeing myself," Mikhail commanded.

Kirche, surprised by the amount of authority spoken by Mikhail, could only dumbly nod and then take off to Tabitha's side.

Mikhail attracted the golem's attention for a brief period, long enough to see that Tabitha, Kirche, and his Master was riding on Sylphid and preparing to fly away. His Master did not look happy. In fact, she looked like she was ready to tear someone's head off; probably the Pawn's. Before they could leave, the golem, in a surprising display of agility, jumped up and grabbed the dragon.

Mikhail began to cast a spell but stopped when a female voice shouted, "Stop right there if you want them to live!"

Mikhail stopped and watched as a female with green hair and glasses emerged from the forest with her wand drawn.

"You! _You're _Fouquet!?" Louise accused venomously.

"Yes, I am Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt. Now be quiet," Fouquet said. Louise found her mouth covered with earth from the golem's hand.

"You," she said as she pointed to Mikhail, "If you want your Master and her friends to live, undo the seals on the box. Once you do that and I have made my escape, then and only then will I return them to you safely."

Fouquet would have already been long gone by now if only she could undo the seals on the box. She stuck around, hoping to get a professor who could undo them to come here and do it for her. Her employers had specifically requested her to get that done before she could return and collect her payment. And before they would call back their soldiers who were close to her sister's orphanage.

So when an unknown, but clearly powerful mage had just shown up and undid the seals like nothing, she knew this was her chance. And then he just had to redo the seals and add some more onto it. This job was becoming more and more of a hassle, but she couldn't afford to just call it quits. She had too much riding on this to quit. So now, here she was, holding schoolchildren hostage so that she could ensure her sister's safety. Despite not wanting to, for her sister's sake, she would even assassinate the Queen. Her sister's safety was a priority above all else.

Fouquet took the box out of Louise's hands and then gestured for Mikhail to lay down his weapons, his staff and his sword on his back. When he did, Fouquet had immediately encased his entire body except for his arms and face in earth. She then walked over and held the box out in front of her so that Mikhail could undo the seals.

"Miss Longueville, nay Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt; or do you have a different moniker still? No matter, why do you seek the Staff of Destruction? A person like you who had gone out of their way to deliberately ensure no one dies in their raids have no use for a weapon of such destructive power," Mikhail questioned while slowly undoing the seals. "Do you seek to turn a profit by selling it? If you do, I can surely buy it off of you for a handsome price. Just name it. Or are you perhaps following someone else's will? From your fervent displays against needless deaths, I would think that one such as you would have the will to challenge their orders."

"Shut up and do it faster," she ordered. She had her golem tighten its grip to reinforce her command.

Mikhail glanced towards his captive Master, but continued, "Are you, by chance, being threatened by this person? ...Or is it someone you care for that is being held hostage?

Fouquet then punched Mikhail in the side of his face. "Shut up!"

"...I see. I'm done here," Mikhail stated.

When Fouquet opened the box to make sure he wasn't lying, everyone in the general vicinity suddenly felt one very strong emotion invade their minds.

Wrath.

Taken by surprise, Fouquet dropped the box, with the Staff falling out of it, and her wand and leapt back. Seizing this moment, Mikhail used his body as a medium and casted **Voidspell**, effectively destroying his prison of earth and freeing himself. Mikhail, quick as lightning, kicked up and unsheathed the newly polished Derflinger. He crossed the gap between him and Fouquet nearly instantaneously and cut her from the left shoulder to the right hip.

"Hah! That's for threatening my partner!" Derf exclaimed excitedly. It had been ages since he had been used and he was near useless against a chunk of earth that could not feel pain.

With Fouquet incapacitated, the golem lost its power source and began to crumble into dirt. Mikhail quickly replaced the Staff and closed the box, redoing the seals for the second time that day. He then wiped away the blood dripping from his nose and searched Fouquet for any spare wands, finding one by her thigh and breaking it. Louise, Tabitha, and Kirche ran over to him.

"What was _that_!?" Kirche asked incredulously. Tabitha just eyed the box suspiciously. Louise stayed silent, staring at Fouquet bleeding from her chest heavily. She had always known Fouquet simply as Miss Longueville, the stern but kind secretary who she would frequently see in the library. The Miss Longueville who, despite not having known her at at all, had approached her and tried to cheer her up whenever she retreated to the library for some peace and quiet. The Miss Longueville who had reminded Louise of both her sisters. And now here she was, bleeding out before her like a common criminal.

Finally, Louise spoke, "Mikhail, we can't let her die. Not here. Not now. She will be taken into custody and will be tried for her crimes. If she is to receive the death penalty then, then so be it. But we can't let her die now." Louise knew she was lying to her self. She knew that she just didn't want Miss Longueville to die. But she had to pay for her crimes, so the least she could do was prolong her life a little bit.

Sensing the true intentions of his Master, Mikhail responded, "Very well. **Vocation: Mage**." Mikhail then dismissed his archistaff and drew a different staff instead. The staff was similar to the Dragon's Wit, with a red twisting handle. The head of the staff had four dragon heads stemming from it instead of two and it did not have the large crystal on it. Mikhail then chanted for a brief moment and then casted **Grand Anodyne. **The healing magic quickly closed Fouquet's gaping wound without leaving a single scar. All of the bumps and scrapes that the team had accumulated during the battle also healed as well. Fouquet was then bound with rope and taken back to the Academy.

* * *

Tristain Academy of Magic - Headmaster's Office

After returning with Fouquet, a small detachment of the Royal Guard put her under arrest and quickly escorted her away. Princess Henrietta had already left earlier. The group of four was called into the Headmaster's Office where they debriefed the mission with the old sage.

"I see. To think that Miss Longueville had been the Fouquet all this time," Osmond repeated, as if by repeating it would lessen the pain of betrayal. "I'll send word of your accomplishments to the Queen immediately. I'm sure that she'll reward you three wonderfully for capturing the thief."

"Three? But there are four of us who had partaken in this mission," Kirche questioned.

"The actions of a familiar are the actions of the summoner," was all that Osmond said to get the point across.

"But that's not fair! Darling here had almost single-handedly apprehended Fouquet. He should be the one getting the reward!"

Osmond smiled weakly before requesting the return of the Staff of Destruction.

"I wish to speak with you _privately_ Headmaster Osmond. About the Staff," Mikhail said with steel in his voice.

Recognizing the seriousness that Mikhail projected in his request, Osmond consented and Louise, Kirche, and Tabitha were dismissed. Osmond then casted a silencing spell to prevent someone from eavesdropping.

When he was sure it was safe to speak, Mikhail withdrew the box containing the Staff of Destruction from his Rift Crystal and then began questioning the old sage, "Where did you get this Staff? It should not be here."

"You speak as if you know what it is. Did you open the box and see it?" Osmond replied back with a question of his own.

"Yes, but I'm sure you of all people know that one does not need to actually _open_ the box to know that it is bad news. Now answer my question. Where. Did. You. Get. It?" Mikhail looked calm but in actuality, was just barely holding back his anger underneath his calm facade.

Responding to the implied threat, Osmond recalled his times serving Tristain as the General of the Armies and steeled his own voice, "I was gifted it. Why is this of importance?"

"Because I had been the one to originally SEAL IT! Who released it!? Who gave it to you!?" Mikhail then reined in his anger and took a deep breath, "Sorry, but I cannot give it back to you. You know how dangerous it is. If your Vault can be broken into once, it can be broken into again. I cannot risk this weapon being released into the world again. Do not worry, I shall put it where it should have been and make it impossible to be retrieved ever again. This world is better without it."

"... 'The one to originally seal it'? ... Who are you?"

"Who am I? Heh, I'm the one it was designed to kill." With that, Mikhail replaced the Stalk into his treasury and then left the office.


	9. Chapter 8 - The Royal Request

**Chapter 8 – The Royal Request**

**Hey guys, here is chapter 8. Sorry this chapter was kinda late, had things to do on Saturday. So with this chapter, the duo are finally into Volume 2 of FoZ, the mission into Albion. Well, this was more like the chapter leading up to it. The next chapter will officially be the start of that arc. This chapter does mention some things from DD and some specific items from it. Also, the sword Ascalon, among others, is mentioned in this chapter. Each of the sword mentioned will have their own personality kinda like Derf, but only Derf can speak with them because he is a sword as well. I personally believe that Ascalon should have been the strongest enchanted one-handed sword in the game, but that is not the case in DD:DA. I mean, you get it from killing the Ur-Dragon who is arguably the strongest enemy in the game. So yeah, it is going to be the strongest enchanted one-handed sword in this story. Also, mid way through, Mikhail changes his outfit and it will remain that way for the rest of the story unless stated otherwise.**

**He is wearing the Adept's Robe, Patterned Gambeson, Meloirean Armguard, Silver Hosen, Meloirean Greaves.**

**As always, read, comment, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Tristain Academy of Magic

With Fouquet captured and the Staff secured, the Headmaster decided that the academy should celebrate it with a ball and to congratulate the people who captured Fouquet. The staff were busily running around getting ready for the ball and the students were getting prepared as well. Louise was sitting in her room, refusing to meet anybody, claiming that she too was getting ready. In truth, Louise was still shocked to find out that Miss Longueville was actually Fouquet. Mikhail was dutifully standing in the corner of the room, waiting for his Master to act.

With a sigh, Mikhail began to contemplate whether he should say something. He knew the pain of betrayal well, he had experienced it several times and witnessed it happen countless times as well. However, even with all of his experience in the matter, he didn't feel confident that he could say the right words to help his Master. And so, he did the only thing that he knew for sure that would at least make her feel a little better. He walked up to his Master, who was sitting on her bed, and then bowed before her like how a knight would before a king.

"Master, no matter what, I will follow your lead, even if you march into the darkest pits of the Abyss, I will be right there by your side to aid you. Your word is my command and I will do whatever it takes to fulfill it. Everything that I own belongs to you. Should you wish for my life, I shall give it. Until death, I will dutifully serve you to the best of my ability. This oath I swear upon my honor and title as the Seneschal."

Louise looked up at her familiar with surprise. She didn't expect that the man would swear an oath like that. Sure, it was a given that a familiar is bound to their master, but to actually hear it from him was reassuring nonetheless. Louise had heard her familiar say similar things like that before but this time, she could clearly feel the conviction behind the words. It brought a small smile to Louise's face.

"Thank you Mikhail, your loyalty is appreciated," Louise said. She then stood up and walked towards her wardrobe. "I guess I should get ready for the ball. I mean, I am part of the main event." Mikhail nodded and then stood up before walking out to stand guard for his Master.

.

.

That evening, the ball commenced. Students mingled and the teaching staff were in a corner, either gossiping or looking out for any trouble makers. Kirche was easily capturing the eyes of the male students. Surprisingly, Tabitha was also present, although Kirche had to drag her to the ball. The blue-haired girl stayed because there was food. A lot of food. And somehow, her small body was able to consume enough food for five men. Where that food went is anybody's guess.

Eventually, Kirche noticed that a certain pink-haired spitfire was no where to be seen. After managing to get away from the mob of hormonal teenage boys, she approached the still eating Tabitha, "Have you seen Louise anywhere?"

Responded by shaking her head for her mouth was full of food. She then grabbed a plate full and walked over to a window. Sylphid flew up and ate the food that was presented to her by Tabitha. And then she heard many gasps. Tabitha turned around and saw many people looking towards the entrance.

At the entrance, a pink-haired woman in a beautiful dress had just walked in followed by a man in a dark red robe. Although some of the attention was to the man, the woman had attracted the most. It was Louise and Mikhail. The two split up shortly after Louise was bombarded with requests to dance by the male students. Mikhail nodded at Louise and then positioned himself by the wall close to the teaching staff. When Kirche saw that the Pawn was all alone, she immediately walked over and began to try and seduce him. Mikhail looked at the Germanian for a second before returning to his vigilant watch. Tabitha walked over and then stood in front of the white-haired man and stared at him, analyzing the enigmatic man. She had seen Mikhail's reaction to the Staff of Destruction and it just produced more questions. Kirche then dragged her away when some of the professors walked over to speak to Mikhail.

Many questions were asked regarding his identity and background, with one of the question asking if he was a new professor at the academy. Mikhail deflected most of the questions and instead asked the professors about themselves. While the teaching staff were all polite, Mikhail noticed that one bald, glasses-wearing professor was overly polite. He had introduced himself as Professor Colbert. Assuming that the professor was just naturally like that, Mikhail didn't pay it any heed.

Soon, Headmaster Osmond walked onto a stage and got everyone's attention and then proceeded to make a speech, "Ladies and gentlemen, can I get your attention… Good. I'm sure that most of you were aware that an artifact had been stolen from the Vault today. However, I am proud to announce that the perpetrator, the renowned Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt has been apprehended by none other than our very own students and the item has been safely returned. I would like Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst, Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, and Tabitha to come up here please."

The three girls proceeded to step onto the stage and face the crowd. Osmond continued, "For your courageous act and your accomplishment today, I would like to personally thank you. I have also received a letter from Queen Marianne and Princess Henrietta thanking you for making the country of Tristain a better place along with the reward for Fouquet's capture."

Everyone in the ballroom then applauded the three girls and after the rest of Osmond's speech, everyone went back to what they were doing. Louise got even more offers to dance and Tabitha was forced to be social, at least until she escaped. The night ended on a high note and Mikhail was glad that everything worked out in the end. He still wondered about who could have gotten past his barriers and seals to obtain the Sanguine Stalk. He was determined to find out who ever it was and punish them for it.

.

.

It has been three days since Fouquet was captured. It was a special day for all of Tristain because it was Founder Brimir's birthday. To celebrate this day, the Academy did not have classes and many people went to enjoy the festival in the capital. Louise wasn't one of them. She had realized during the battle with Fouquet that her successful spells were extremely weak, Dot-class at the most. Case in point, Louise decided to focus on her magic that day. Mikhail was around to give her some advice but for the most part simply watched her try. He was standing in the shade and having a conversation with Derf.

"So you actually knew this Brimir guy? What was he like because from everything I heard, he sounds like a saint," Mikhail asked.

With a snort, Derf replied, "Naw, Brimir wasn't a saint, not one bit. I don't quite remember everything because, well its been 6000 years, and because I wasn't awake the whole time between then and now. Hmm, I do remember that he was quite the dirty joker though. Always cracked me up and annoyed Sasha, my wielder, to no end."

"Heh, don't let anybody catch you saying that. I don't want to find a new sword."

"What are you talking about, you have plenty of swords in that thing of yours."

"Yes, well none are as entertaining as you."

"I aim to please," Derf said and would have bowed if he had a body. "Anyway, put me back in that thing again so that I can see Ascalon again. She is HOT, and I think my charms are finally working on her."

"You are… flirting, with my other swords? And Ascalon is a woman?"

"Yep. And no, I am not flirting with all your other swords, only the women. I mean, who in their right mind would want to even talk to that prick Dragon's Dogma. I mean, I even call him Doggy just to annoy him."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, Doggy is such a stickler for rules and stuff," Derf continued to rant about the draconian sword for a while until Mikhail interrupted him.

"Wait, wait. You do know that Ascalon is the holiest sword that I have right? So from what I understand, Ascalon is like a… holy maiden, so to speak. And Dogma is like her bodyguard? I don't see a reason why you would think that Dogma would allow you to speak to her freely then."

"I thought that Cursed Light guy was the holiest? He introduced himself as such and Ascalon even agreed."

"There is a reason why he is called _Cursed _Light. He has been tainted by a, you know, curse. He _used _to be the holiest. Even though his holy power is still bigger than Ascalon, he wields a more malevolent kind of holiness while Ascalon contains a pure unadulterated kind."

"I don't see the difference. Holy power is still holy power," Derf said.

"Hmm, it's like comparing a bucket of dirty water to a flask of pure water. Both are still water and if there is a fire, the bucket of dirty water will do the job better. However, the flask of pure water is more valuable."

"I… see."

With a deep sigh, Mikhail relented, "It's hard to explain. You'd have to feel it for yourself to notice the difference. Next time, try to feel Cursed Light's aura and compare it to Ascalon's aura. And besides, Ascalon has gotten stronger recently."

"Yeah, she said that your power had been rubbing off on her. And considering how long you had her, I think she might even be able to officially take over the spot of holiest sword."

"You know, it's kind of strange talking to another sword about swords. Feels like we're gossiping or something."

"They can hear everything we're saying."

"Really?"

Before Derf could answer, Louise marched up to Mikhail and then kicked him in the shin. Unfortunately, Louise forgot that Mikhail always wears armor and in kicking Mikhail, she had only injured her self. She hopped around holding her foot in agony.

"Founder damn it! It hurts! Why do you have to wear armor all the time!?" Louise screamed.

Remembering the time when had kicked a golem, a metal golem to be specific, because he had to search for the magick medallions, the white-haired man winced. He had broken two of his toes then. Luckily, he had a Mage who was able to heal his foot. Becoming worried, Mikhail asked, "Is anything broken Master?"

"No, I don't think so… yea nothing's broken," Louise replied after sitting down and checking her foot. Mikhail then took out a small leafy plant and then handed a leaf to Louise.

"Here, rub it on the wounded area, it will numb the pain and stimulate healing," Mikhail prescribed. Louise took off her shoe and socks and did as told. Louise was surprised by the near instantaneous effect.

"What is this? I've never seen something like this before," Louise inquired.

"It is a leaf from a plant known as the Greenwarish. It is usually ingested to cover the entire body but it could be used on a specific area like that. It is indigenous to the land of Gransys," Mikhail explained. "Would you like to have some?"

Louise nodded at the offer and received several bushels of the plant. She also received some bushels of Potent Greenwarish and one Matured Greenwarish as well. After explaining about the difference between the plants, Louise then talked about her sister Cattleya.

"Big sis Cattleya is my second oldest sister. Although she is a powerful earth mage, she has an illness that has severely weakened her body," Louise explained, her mood noticeably dropping. Mikhail assumed that is the reason why Louise had suddenly became interested when he started talking about the medicinal plants from Gransys. "Because of the illness, she is not married and frequently bed-stricken. I hope that one day someone will find a cure for it." Louise went on to explain the symptoms and various effects it has her body as well as family dynamics.

"I see. I am sorry that your sister has to go through that," Mikhail then began to pace back and forth for a couple seconds before resuming. "I might have the cure you are looking for. However, I cannot guarantee that this cure will work. I have never heard of such an illness so I am unsure of its effectiveness. If it does work, then your sister will be completely cured of the disease and if not, I'm sure that she will at least feel better for a while."

At that, Louise immediately felt elated. She knew she could rely on Mikhail and if there isn't a cure in all of Halkeginia, then what about outside of it? And here it is, a possible cure for her sister. Mikhail pulled out a small sky blue vial with a long silver stopper. He then handed it over to Louise.

"This potion is called Panacea, named after a local goddess of all remedies in certain parts of Gransys. It is famed to be able to cure any and all debilitations. I hope it helps your sister," Mikhail said. Louise held it gently in her hands, as if the vial was a newborn. Then, Louise started to shed some tears. Mikhail immediately became worried again before getting wrapped in Louise's arms in a tight hug.

"T-Thank you Mikhail. You don't know how much this means to me. I can never repay you for this," Louise said through tears.

"Do not worry about repaying me Master for I am simply giving you something that you already own. As I said before, everything that I own belongs to you."

.

.

Later that evening, Princess Henrietta had returned to the Academy to personally thank the three girls who had captured Fouquet as well as participate in the feast held in Founder Brimir's name. During the feast, Kirche, Louise, and Tabitha had the honor of sitting next to the Princess; Louise sat to the right of the Princess and Kirche sat to the left. Tabitha had chosen not to sit by the Princess, preferring her usual spot. Of course, the Royal Guard was flanking the Princess and several were stationed at each entrance, while others were patrolling the Academy grounds.

Mikhail stood at his usual spot behind Louise and a little to the right. Several of the Royal Guard had noticed the Pawn and eyed him suspiciously. To his credit, Mikhail also eyed the guards suspiciously and in the end, the guards were the ones who fidgeted nervously. Mikhail smirked inwardly at his victory. Near the end of the feast, Princess Henrietta whispered into Louise's ear about something that seemed important due to the way that Louise seemed restless.

When the feast came to a close, Princess Henrietta made a small speech about courage and valor before dismissing everyone. Louise hastily left the dining hall and practically ran into her room. When Mikhail entered, Louise slammed the door close.

Louise walked to the other side of the room, turned around, and then spoke, "Mikhail, the Princess will be coming here shortly so I want you to be on your best behavior; treat her as you would treat me, understood?"

"Yes Master," Mikhail confirmed. The man was obviously going to prioritize Louise over the Princess though. The Princess already had the Royal Guard to protect her. Mikhail watched as Louise looked at herself in the mirror and fixed her hair. Then, a quiet knock came from the door. Louise looked at it and then looked at Mikhail and gave him a small nod. Mikhail walked over to the door and opened it to see the same cloaked woman like before. Since he knew that this was the Princess this time, Mikhail simply stood to the side and beckoned her in. Mikhail looked outside briefly and failed to see any members of the Royal Guard.

That confused him. A member of the Royal Family was here without any protection. Either the Royal Guard was unskilled or this Princess was adept at sneaking off. When he looked at the Princess again, he was sure that it was the latter. She was hiding it well, but she still had a mischievous side to her. He then closed the door after one final glance and then went to stand beside Louise.

"Henrietta, it's nice to be able to talk to you informally like this," Louise smiled. The entire day had just been one good thing after another.

"Louise, it is nice to finally relax like this. I hope you had a good time at the banquet today. Unfortunately, I don't have much time today so I must make it quick. What I am about to ask of you is a matter of great importance. Please, hear me out and tell no one about this," Henrietta began.

"Of course."

The Princess then turned to the only other person in the room, "What about you Sir Serolius, do I have your promise of silence on this matter?"

"My Master has already agreed and so I am obligated to agree as well," the Pawn said.

"You have my thanks," Henrietta said, smiling at the man's commitment to Louise. She then turned back to Louise, "Louise, I am getting married."

"Congratulations Henrietta! Who's the lucky man?" Louise asked, genuinely happy for her childhood friend.

"I am to marry Emperor Albrecht III of Germania," Henrietta said with a hint of gloom in her voice.

"What!? Him!? Why?" Louise nearly shouted in anger. She was only able rein in her voice when Henrietta shushed her. "Why?" Louise asked once more.

"We are to be wed to secure the alliance between Tristain and Germania. As you may already know, the flying nation of Albion is currently under going a revolution, led by a group known as the Reconquista. Unfortunately, they are winning. It is highly likely that once they take over Albion, Tristain will be the next nation in their sights," Henrietta explained.

"So you are to be wed to that barbarian king because we under threat?" Louise asked for clarification.

"I'm afraid so. And this leads to my request for you Louise. Because of the importance of my upcoming marriage to Emperor Albrecht, we cannot afford to have it fall apart. Prince Wales Tudor of Albion currently is in possession of a letter that, if fallen into the wrong hands, may doom the alliance between Germania and Tristain. I need you to infiltrate Albion and then meet with Prince Wales and acquire the letter."

"What kind of letter is this for it to be so important Henrietta?"

"It is… it is a," Henrietta hesitated, clearly debating whether she should tell her friend about it. Making up her mind, she continued, "It is a love letter from me to Wales."

Comprehending the implications of what was said easily, Louise argued, "But Henrietta, if you truly love Prince Wales and he loves you as well, you two belong together."

"Louise, it's not that simple. There are-"

"But-"

"Louise, listen to me! I've already made up my mind. There is no going back," Henrietta said with a tone that left no room for discussion. Louise was left speechless. She then looked away from the Princess and had a face that showed that she was making a plan. Henrietta smiled sadly at Louise and then spoke again, "Louise, if you don't want to do this, then I understand. It is too dangerous for-"

Henrietta was cut off once more when Louise knelt down before her and proclaimed, "Princess Henrietta, I would be honored to undertake this mission for you. Simply tell me when and I shall proceed."

"… Thank you Louise," Henrietta took off a ring and then handed it to Louise along with a letter, "This letter will explain the situation to Wales and this is the Water Ruby of Tristain. It will validate the letter and you. Because of the importance of this mission, I will need you to leave as soon as you can."

"I can leave as early as tomorrow morning," Louise declared confidently.

"I will have a guide ready for you. Once again, you have my thanks Louise." The Princess then gave a small bow to the pink-haired girl before turning around to leave when she opened the door, she found herself staring at a blonde person with their head turned side. Mikhail immediately crossed the room, pulled the blonde person by the collar of their shirt into the room and closed the door once more. He then slammed the person to the wall and pulled out his dagger and aimed it the blonde person's throat. It turned out to be Guiche.

"P-P-Peace Sir Serolius!" Guiche stuttered while raising his hand in submission.

"Master, should I silence this person to remove any loose ends?" Mikhail asked.

"Wha-wha-what? Please don't," Guiche begged.

"Sir Serolius, please release that man," Henrietta commanded. Mikhail looked at the Princess for second and then nodded before releasing his grip on the boy's collar and sheathed his dagger.

"Thank you Your Highness. I am Guiche de Gramont, son of General Gramont, and I would be honored if you would let me be a part of this mission," Guiche spoke confidently now that the weapon was no longer at his throat.

Henrietta closed her eyes for a brief second, contemplating if she should allow this person to join. She then opened her eyes and then nodded with a smile on her face, "I would be happy to let you join. However, you cannot tell anyone about this mission, not even your parents, understood?"

"I swear upon my honor, my lips are sealed," Guiche responded. The Princess nodded and then quickly left the room.

"Alright Guiche, since the Princess actually came to me about this mission, I am going to be in charge. Go prepare yourself for we are going to be leaving at the crack of dawn," Louise ordered. Guiche nodded and then left.

When the two were alone, Louise let out a massive breath and fell face first onto her bed. She then turned her head to look at Mikhail and began speaking, "Mikhail, what do you think about this mission honestly?"

"Master, I believe that with the current situation, this is the best plan to ensure the alliance between Germania and Tristain. However, I am against you going into the middle of a warzone. It is simply too dangerous."

"Yeah, well I'm still going," Louise retorted.

"Of course. Get some sleep Master, I shall wake you up tomorrow when it is time to leave."

Louise yawned and then changed into her sleepwear. When Mikhail was sure that Louise was asleep, Mikhail silently left the room. He wondered through the halls, helping any of the staff members that he saw until he reached the gates of the Academy. He went into the nearby woods and scouted for a good place. When he found one, he took out a large purple crystal from his treasury and placed it on the ground The crystal emitted a faint purple glow in the night. Satisfied with the placement, Mikhail returned to his Master's room.


	10. Chapter 9 - To Albion

**Chapter 9 – To Albion**

**Hello guys, here is chapter 9. This chapter officially starts the Albion arc. If you compare the size of Wardes's griffin to the griffins in DD, you'll see that the FoZ griffin is slightly smaller. Also the DD griffins can hold a grown man in its... paw? hand? claws? you get the point. Uh, not much else to say so I'll just head right to the spells used in this chapter**

**Grand Ingle - Fire-Wind repeated many times**

**High Petrifaction - Void-Earth-Earth**

**As always, read, comment, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Tristain Academy of Magic

Louise had woken up early even without Mikhail waking her up. All through the night, she had a hard time sleeping and in the morning, it showed. After quickly cleaning herself up, she left for the Headmaster's Office followed by Mikhail carrying her supplies.

When she got there, she saw that the Headmaster already had someone inside, it was probably a meeting with the professors. However, because she didn't have the time to wait, she knocked on the door twice and then waited for a few seconds before entering. Inside the office was the Headmaster and Professor Colbert. Both of them turned to look at Louise when she came in.

Suddenly the attention of two pairs of eyes, Louise shrank a little until she remembered her mission and confidently strode towards the two. Mikhail followed his Master inside, closing the door and then setting the bags down before taking up his usual position behind Louise.

"What may I help you Louise?" the Headmaster asked. Although he asked politely, one could easily tell that he was irritated at being interrupted. Colbert moved to the side a little after giving Mikhail a small bow which confused Louise while Mikhail simply narrowed his eyes a little.

"I would like to request some time off starting today for a week," Louise said. Osmond clearly had some knowledge as to the reason for this because he scowled a bit before adopting his usual cheery face.

"Of course. However, when you do return, you will have to make up for all the work that you have missed."

Colbert was about to interject, a student should not be missing an entire week of school without a good reason. Before he could speak up, Osmond shot him a look that made him withhold his thoughts. Of the people in the room, only Colbert did not know about what Louise had accepted the night before. Osmond did not know the details of the mission Louise had been given, but being the veteran that he is, he knew that the Princess's meeting last night with Louise was not friendly in nature, merely business between a sovereign and their subject. And he also knew that with Louise being so young and impulsive, it was very likely that Louise did not really think it through, only accepting the mission to gain some rapport with the royal family.

What he did not know was that Louise had thought of many things before making her decision. It was more about the end goal and not the way there, but it was brainstormed nonetheless.

After getting the Headmaster's approval, Louise thanked him and then left. When Mikhail was about to leave, the Headmaster gave him a look that conveyed a clear message: "Keep Louise safe." Mikhail gave the Headmaster a nod before quickly following his Master.

When the door was closed, Colbert turned to the Headmaster and resumed their conversation. He thought about asking about Louise, but he knew that the Headmaster wouldn't have allowed it if he thought that Louise was up to no good.

"Headmaster, what should we do about him? We can't just have a foreign sovereign roaming around in Tristain without protection and without the Queen's knowledge. And then there is also he fact that he was essentially kidnapped from his country and then bound to a little girl," Colbert explained.

He had been keeping an eye on Mikhail for the past few days since his discovery of the Pawn's title. Sure enough, the Pawn had carried himself with proper poise and seemed to always have an air of regality about him. That combined with the fact that Louise, who had been known as the Zero for her zero success rate at using spells, had suddenly acquired the ability to use Dot-class fire spells; this only occurring after the white-haired man had been bound to her as a familiar although her family had tried for years to get her someone who could teach her how to do magic. And who better to teach magic than a scholar who had enough knowledge about it that their king would give them the title of Seneschal.

That was Colbert's theory on Mikhail's origins. Mikhail was a well-respected scholar and military commander, enough that the king had granted him the title. Of course, he did not know anything about where exactly the man had come from; the Seneschal was an ancient title in Tristain, so ancient that it is not being used anymore.

The Headmaster shook his head, "Until he actually makes any demands, I don't think that we should act rashly. Simply keep an eye on him. Do not tell anyone about your theory of his origins. We don't want to cause any panic."

The Headmaster never told anyone about Mikhail's remark about the Staff of Destruction. It was unsettling that a weapon that dangerous would be constructed to simply kill one man. Perhaps he was more than a simple man.

.

.

Louise and Mikhail had reached the Academy's gates and were waiting for Guiche to show up.

"Why is he late!? I specifically told him that we are leaving early today. If our guide gets here before he does, we are leaving him behind," Louise said to Mikhail, although he only nodded back in return. Louise turned to her familiar and gave him a glare. "You need to speak more frequently. I'm not talking to myself here."

"Very well Master. I shall endeavor to be more talkative from now on," Mikhail replied.

The sword on Mikhail's back popped open and then spoke, "Oi, here comes the blondie now."

Guiche walked towards the Master and Pawn confidently. When he reached them, he was greeted with Louise's temper. Mid way through her rant, a giant mole jumped on her.

"Gah! What is this thing doing!? Get it off!" Louise screamed.

"Oh? Verdandi never greets strangers like that. Do you have jewelry on you because she is attracted to gems," Guiche explained.

Mikhail walked over to his Master and then plucked the mole off her. After that, he helped his Master stand. "Master, are you alright?"

"Ugh, I feel dirty now," Louise responded, keeping an eye on the mole in case it was to jump her again. The mole was about to but then an abnormally strong gust of wind knocked it away. Mikhail immediately tensed up and looked for the source, and then he saw it.

"Griffin," he said curtly. He was about to fire off **Grand I****ngle** until he saw a man riding the griffin. The griffin flew closer until it landed in front of them. Mikhail looked at the griffin strangely. 'Odd, I'm pretty sure that griffins are supposed to be bigger,' Mikhail thought. The rider had gray long hair and a short beard. The man had got off the griffin and then introduced himself.

"Greeting, I am the person that Princess Henrietta has assigned to be your guard and guide. I am Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes, Captain of the Tristainian Griffin Knights."

"Wardes!? Oh Founder, how lucky am I to actually get to do a mission with you," Guiche said, his excitement clear for all to see.

"W-W-Wardes! I-It, uh, it's been a long time," Louise said.

"Ah, Louise. How are you?" Wardes asked.

"I-I'm fine, thank you for asking," Louise's face was red with embarrassment.

"You know each other?" Guiche inquired.

"Yes, I am Louise's fiancee actually," Wardes answered. He then turned to Louise and smiled at her.

Louise fumbled over her words before finally giving up and turned away. She looked down at her hands and saw the Water Ruby. She then remembered about the mission, "We should depart for the mission now that everyone's here."

Wardes nodded and then spoke, "We will ride for the port city of La Rochelle. There, we will catch an airship and sail to Albion. Come on Louise, you can ride with me on the griffin." Wardes got on his grffin and then offered Louise a hand

Louise looked over at Mikhail and saw him nod. She took Wardes's hand and then they took off. Guiche looked over at the Pawn and then sighed. Mikhail was already walking towards the horses that Louise and taken out before hand. Despite his hate for riding, Mikhail had begrudgingly admitted that it was faster than any other way currently available. He got on his horse and then followed the griffin.

* * *

Road to Albion

The sun had already set and the group was only half way to La Rochelle. Louise and Wardes had landed because the group was looking for a clearing to set up camp for the night. Mikhail found one and began to unpack. Guiche was busy talking to Wardes while Louise was thinking about something. That left it up to the Pawn to actually set up camp.

"Partner, I admit that I am awed by your patience with these people. If it was me, I would have left them alone a long time ago," Derf said.

In response, Mikhail shrugged and then said, "I was expecting it. Besides, it has been too long since I last camped out under the stars. It reminds me of the simpler times when I was still a Newly Arisen."

"My last wielder hated camping. She said that the bugs were scary and gross. I'm like, 'you have a SWORD! The bugs are more scared of you!' and then she said just stuck me into the ground for the rest of the night."

"No wonder you had so much dirt on you before. It was a pain to clean you, you know."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault, ok?"

"Whatever you say Derf-"

Suddenly Mikhail heard a whistling sound flying through towards the group. He ran towards his Master, unsheathing the sword on the way. The Gandalfr runes glowed brightly, improving his speed and reflexes. He got to his Master just in time before an arrow could land, swatting them out of the air with his sword.

"We're under attack!" Guiche yelled loudly when he saw what had just happened.

"Bandits!" Wardes pointed his wand-sword to a nearby cliff and fired off some wind spells. Some screams were heard as the attackers got hit by the spell. With the enemies now revealed, Mikhail brought out his archistaff and casted **Grand Ingle, **the fiery projectiles exploding on impact. The surviving attackers scattered but continued to fire arrows at the group. Some of the bandits traversed down the cliff and ran towards the group, thinking that it was safer in close combat against mages. On any other mage, it might have had a chance at success. However, with both a trained Griffin Knight and a former Knight of the Hunt, the bandits did not stand a chance. Guiche had finally summoned his **Bronze Valkyries** when Louise slapped him. The bronze golems did a remarkable job at taking the arrows for the group while occupying some of the bandits long enough for either Wardes or Mikhail to take them out.

Louise sent a small fireball sailing at an unwary bandit, surprising him and setting his shirt on fire. The man was quickly dispatched by the blade of the Pawn. That was the last of the melee bandits. The only ones left were the ones still shooting the arrows. Mikhail watched as Wardes created a shield of wind around the group to defend them from the projectiles. Quickly seizing the chance, Mikhail began casting a spell, a dark green sigil appearing on the head of his staff. When he finished casting, he released the spell **High Petrifaction **on the archers.

A large dark green, fog-like sigil descended on them. Immediately, the archers tried to get away. Unfortunately, they were unable to. Slowly their bodies started to turn to stone until they were simply statues. Mikhail walked towards them and then destroyed them with a swing of his archistaff.

When he turned around, he was met with two shocked faces and one scowl. Louise and Guiche were speechless. They had never seen that kind of Earth magic before. Turning a man to stone? That had only been described in tales. Wardes was now restudying the man that was his fiancee's familiar. At first, he had thought that the white-haired man was simply a swordsman for that was the only weapon visible. Then, in the middle of the fight, the Pawn just pulls a staff out of nowhere and began to cast spells while using the sword as well. He had seen the man in the red robe use Fire, Ice, Lightning and now a deadly Earth-type spell. His mission had just got more difficult. Inside, he was frustrated. On the outside, Wardes smiled and approached Mikhail.

"Louise had told me that you were a formidable mage. I didn't know that you were a fellow Square-class mage. It is reassuring that I will be working with another experienced veteran," Wardes complimented. Before Mikhail could reply, Wardes held out his hand and continued, "Don't try to deny it, I know a soldier when I see one. Besides, with your help, this mission has just gotten easier."

"I am glad that you are able to defend both yourself and Master Louise. Please continue look after yourself," Mikhail replied. He then looked at Wardes hand and saw him bleeding. Mikhail narrowed his eyes at the sight before walking towards his Master. "Master, are you injured?"

"No, not really," she replied. She then ran over to Wardes when she saw that he was bleeding. She grabbed his hand and then applied some of own supply of Greenwarish on the wound. The bleeding stopped quickly after and the wound visibly closed, albeit slowly. Wardes was surprised at this.

"Louise, what is this? Its healing properties are amazing," Wardes wondered.

"Ah, this is part of the Greenwarish plant that Mikhail gave me. It truly is a wonderful plant isn't it?"

Unbeknownst to Louise, Mikhail was positively glaring at Wardes. Mikhail had noticed that although Louise was not injured too badly, she did receive some bruises. When he got within six feet of her, she started healing. That was why she didn't notice her injuries. They had just healed before she could recognize them.

Even Guiche started to heal as well when he got closer to the group. However, Wardes had not. His robes, the Adept's Robe, has a healing enchantment on it. Any nearby ally will start to heal. Since Wardes did not heal from the effects of his robes…

Wardes noticed Mikhail's glare and assumed something else. "Oh? Are we jealous here?"

"J-Jealous? What does he have to be jealous over?" Louise asked. She understood what Wardes had meant and that Mikhail never saw her that way, but the thought that two men would potentially be fighting over her made her fantasize.

Mikhail's glare soon subsided and then he spoke, "Master, he should keep moving. This place is too dangerous to stop at." The Pawn repacked the supplies and then got back on his horse. "Let's move."

Louise watched as her familiar began to ride away. Then, she spoke, "Mikhail…. That's the wrong direction."

The horse stopped. It turned around and then eventually got back to the group.

"Of course Master. Let us keep moving for another hour before we finally settle down," Mikhail said shamelessly.

.

.

True to his word, the group had traveled for another hour before setting up camp. Mikhail volunteered to stand watch through the night, although Wardes had frequently asked if Mikhail wanted to switch. The group then departed for La Rochelle again early in the morning. The rest of the trip to the port city was peaceful. The finally reached the city around dusk.

* * *

La Rochelle

"Finally, an inn! I've had quite enough of camping for the wee- Well, hello there mademoiselle. My name is Guiche de..."

"Louise, let's go rent a some rooms. Sir Mikhail, I trust you can bring in the bags by yourself?" Wardes asked. Mikhail nodded. Louise and Wardes headed into the inn while Mikhail followed them with the bags. He saw Louise blushing while Wardes talked to the man at the counter. When Mikhail approached them, Wardes turned around and began to speak, "Ah, Mikhail. Good job. Here is how the rooms will be separated: you and Guiche shall be roomed together in room 15 while I will share a room with Louise in room 16."

At this, Mikhail understood why his Master was blushing. "Do you confirm this decision Master?"

Louise nodded quickly, perhaps too quickly because she suddenly winced and then started to rub her neck.

"As long as you agree Master. Sir Wardes, I am sure you know that any inappropriate actions towards my Master will not be tolerated."

"It is a given," Wardes replied.

"Anything done that my Master does not approve of will result in immediate removal of the source. Do you understand?"

"Of course."

Mikhail looked at Wardes skeptically. He then spoke again, "If Master does approve, please be quiet. It is not proper to be loud in a public establishment like this." Louise's blush grew even more intense.

"Sh-sh-shut up Mikhail!" Louise stuttered. It seems like even she was thinking about it. Mikhail sighed deeply before walking to their rooms with the bags.

.

.

The group sat down for dinner soon. Guiche was busy trying to woo the waitress while Louise chatted animatedly with Wardes. Their conversation was about their lives since they last saw each other. And then, their conversation turned towards Mikhail.

"So you're saying that Mikhail here was the actual person who apprehended Fouquet?" Wardes asked.

"Yes, I simply got the credit for it because he is my familiar," Louise answered.

"I see. Mikhail, if you don't mind, I would like to have a duel with you tomorrow. I would like to test myself against the man who took down the Fouquet," Wardes requested.

Louise was shocked at Wardes request. She didn't tell him about all the things that Mikhail could do because she wasn't too sure about it herself. However, she did stress that Mikhail was very skilled. If Wardes and Mikhail ever fought, she didn't know who would win; she didn't know who she wanted to win.

Mikhail stopped eating, he didn't need to actually eat and only ate to keep up appearances, and looked at Wardes. He then turned his gaze to Louise. He recognized the fear on Louise's face and then turned back to Wardes.

"Denied," Mikhail replied curtly before resuming to eat.

"Why not? Are you perhaps afraid?" Wardes taunted. He needed to know if his real mission would be threatened by the man before him. Experiencing his skills first hand would greatly reward him with the information that he needed.

Mikhail simply looked up at Wardes once more and then refocused on eating, not letting any of his suspicion show at the moment.

Wardes was irritated. He needed to know, but he can't force the white-haired man to fight him unless he gave away his secret. And then a thought occurred to him. Mikhail was loyal only to Louise and from what he had heard, followed her orders to the letter. That made things easier.

With a gentle smile on his face, Wardes turned his attention to Louise who was still occupied with her thoughts. "Louise, are you alright?" Wardes asked.

"Hmm. Oh, uh, yes. Yes I'm fine," Louise said when she was freed from her thoughts.

"Will you allow me to have a friendly spar with Mikhail?" Wardes asked. Mikhail threw Wardes a dirty look but remained silent. Louise still looked reluctant to agree so Wardes continued his plan, "Do not worry. I'll be sure to hold back and I'm positive that Mikhail will also hold back as well. Tell you what, you can be there to tell us when to stop. If you think it is getting too heated, feel free to stop us."

Wardes smooth voice combined with his gentle face convinced Louise, "Ok, I guess that it'll be fine."

Mikhail instantly began to analyze Wardes, searching for his motive. When Louise finally allowed it, Mikhail felt annoyed. 'Dammit. I was hoping to avoid this,' he thought. He didn't want a potential enemy learning about him or his abilities. The only reprieve that he got was that Louise said nothing about his different vocations. All conversation ended when Guiche was slapped by the waitress. Louise laughed at his expense and soon everyone went to bed.

.

.

The next morning, Louise had been woken early by Wardes. After getting dressed, she found herself looking at Wardes and Mikhail in an open area with the men standing about twenty feet from each other. Guiche was openly cheering for Wardes while Louise looked back and forth between them nervously.

"So, are you ready Mikhail?" Wardes asked as he drew his sword-wand. He noticed that the Pawn did not have his staff with him, only the sword. 'Is he underestimating me?' he thought.

Mikhail was not underestimating the Griffin Knight. If anything, Mikhail was _over_estimating Wardes. Mikhail did not want to reveal anything about his powers yet so he opted to only use the sword for now. Mikhail drew Derf in response to Wardes question.

Both stood there ready but unmoving. The tension in the air was thick. Louise finally tried to speak up but her voice seemed to be the starting gun for both men began when she spoke up.

Wardes pointed his wand-sword at Mikhail and a Wind spell shot forward. Mikhail raised the sword above his head and then swung it down when the spell was in striking distance. The spell was cut in two and then dissipated. Mikhail then exploded forward, crossing the distance between the two in a blink of an eye. Wardes was just barely able to dodge the sword that came for his right ribs. Wardes jumped back and then casted a spell on himself, allowing him to move faster.

Wardes charged at the Pawn with a thrust. Mikhail deflected it and then swung the Derf once more at Wardes's ribs. Although Wardes leapt back, he was still hit slightly by the sword. When he saw tat he wasn't bleeding, he finally noticed that the Pawn was using the blunt edge of the blade.

The short exchange was simply for them to test the waters. Wardes smirked and then began to cast some more spells. Mikhail took this chance to attack again. However, Wardes jumped back and then unleashed several **Razor Winds **at Mikhail. Mikhail rolled to the side to dodge them but had to retreat when the onslaught of wind did not stop. Wardes continued to cast several Wind-based spells at the man. When Mikhail was sufficiently distanced, Wardes began to cast his signature spell: **Lightning.**

Mikhail continued to dodge the wind blades that soared towards him when he saw Wardes point the wand-sword at him. The small electric spark around the weapon tipped him off about what was coming next. The next second, a lightning bolt flew towards him. Mikhail's heightened reflexes allowed Mikhail to just barely dodge the brunt of the spell, although some of it did hit him due to the armor that he was wearing.

To say that Wardes was surprised at the outcome of his spell was putting it lightly. His spell had never missed before due to its speed until now. His shock had distracted him long enough for Mikhail to close in nearly stab Wardes in the abdomen. The only reason that he stopped was because his Master had yelled at them to stop.

Mikhail sheathed the sword and then whispered to Wardes, "That last attack has been determined to have been lethal should it have hit. You are now to be under strict watch Sir Wardes. Should you show any hint of insubordination or hamper the success of the mission in any way, shape, or form, you will be disposed of immediately."

Wardes narrowed his eyes at the Pawn as the white-haired man walked away. His mission's difficulty had just increased dramatically. He had attracted the attention of a powerful enemy. If he can't find some way to remove him from the scene, then the mission is doomed to failure. Louise ran up to him, patting him down and looking for any injuries. The solution had just ran up to him again. Louise. If he could somehow get Louise to cooperate with him, that will allow him to command the familiar as well.

Mikhail didn't saw a word after that, only staying close to Louise all the time and keeping an eye on Wardes. Later, the group finally got onto the airship that was headed to Albion with some supplies. Everything was going to smoothly and according to the captain of the ship, they were about to reach Albion.

The sound of a cannon erupted through the air. Some of the sailors ran to the port side of the ship to see what had happened.

"Pirates, Captain! All their cannons are aimed at us!"


	11. Chapter 10 - The Prince

**Chapter 10 – The Prince**

**Hey guys, here is chapter 10. First of all, Mikhail in the Assassin vocation wears the complete Oblivion armor set and uses the Framae Blades and Dragon's Rancor. The DD mission A Fortress Besieged is made to be on a bigger scale in this Arisen's backstory. He also commands six Pawns, not three since I think that limiting it to three was just a game gimmick. The Invisibility skill will actually make him invisible since it doesn't make sense otherwise. Just so you know, the currency equates to this 2,000,000 ecus = 400,000 G = 60,000,000 USD. Grand Comestion doesn't actually exist in-game but it does here; its flames are hotter, they burst forth with more concussive force, and it covers a wider area. Basically every spell will have a third tier or an improved one if it already exists. One last thing, I struggle with action scenes so I apologize. Thanks for all your comments. It is greatly appreciated.**

**As always, read, comment, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Skies of Halkeginia

"Pirates Captain! All their cannons are aimed at us!"

"What!?" the Captain was hoping that this wouldn't happen. The war between the Royalist and the rebels in Albion had reduced the amount of pirates in the area, but it seems like not all of them were deterred by the fighting.

Another cannon was fired. The explosion silenced everyone aboard the transport vessel.

"Alright, everyone on the vessel are to hit the deck now! We will be boarding the ship and looting all of your cargo. We will not kill you as long as you do not resist!" a pirate commanded. All of the sailors and Guiche immediately went to the floor. Only the Captain and the three guests remained standing.

"Master, what are your orders?" Mikhail asked. He could tell that Louise wanted nothing but to blast the pirates into smithereens. Unfortunately, she was on a secret mission for the Princess so she needed to lay low until the mission was a success. The Pawn watched as Louise clenched her fist tightly, her hands slowly edging towards her wand. Her hand moved back when the boarding planks slammed onto the ship.

"I thought the boss told you to get on the floor," a pirate stated when he crossed the plank.

"Don't think that you can get away with this, you filthy pirates," the Captain spat. One of the pirates simply unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the Captain's throat to shut him up. If looks could kill then the pirates would all be dead because Louise was giving them a death glare.

"What's this? A little noble so far away from home? Get on the floor if you don't want to get hurt lass?" a pirate said to Louise. Apparently Louise did not take to being talked down to lightly, although her stature was the main cause of it happening. She slapped the pirate and then pushed him away.

"Louise what are you doing!?" Guiche whimpered desperately from the floor.

Mikhail took that as the signal to engage the hostiles. Before he could attack, however, the boss of the pirates came aboard and ordered his men to stand down.

"Now, now. We don't have to have any blood spilled here. You three are outnumbered here. You have no hopes of victory. Even if you do somehow manage to kill us, our ship will simply shoot down this ship and then you're dead as well. Why don't you hand over your weapons and come with me," the boss said, although it was more akin to a demand.

"Do you think I'm stupid? I'd rather die than to follow you," Louise retorted. Louise pointed her wand at the boss, threatening him. Mikhail unsheathed Derf while Wardes was pondering something else.

'I can't have Louise die just yet,' he thought. Louise's survival for now was critical for his mission. "Louise, he is right. Any confrontation here is unlikely to end in our victory. Besides, our mission is of the utmost importance. I think it would be better if we simply comply for now," Wardes reasoned.

Wardes's opinions was greatly valued for Louise. Not only was he more experienced than her, he was also her future husband. She trusted him, so she agreed. Rather reluctantly, Louise put away her wand and spoke, "Fine, we will follow you. But we will be keeping our weapons. If you truly mean us no harm, then we should not have to use them."

"Fair enough. I'm glad that reason was among your group. I thank you for your cooperation in preventing needless bloodshed," the boss said as he led the group onto the pirate ship. Guiche had decided to stay on the cargo ship, thinking that it was safer.

Louise was surprised. Despite being pirates, the ship was pleasantly clean. The pirates were well-mannered as well. They truly did not act like a group of pirates. The boss and the group went into a room, presumably the captain's quarters.

"Now then, I believe I heard that you were on a mission from the gentleman over there," the boss began. Mikhail shot a glare at Wardes before turning back to the boss. "I want to know what this mission is. Depending on who sent you, well, let's just say that you won't be leaving the ship." The boss drew his wand, revealing that he was a mage. A rather competent mage based on his aura.

Mikhail had noticed that the pirate boss had moved with poise, rather unlike that of a pirate. He surmised that the boss was a fallen noble who had resorted to piracy to live. It made sense, Fouquet had turned to thievery to survive.

Louise saw the boss draw his wand, although he only held it by his side. More of showcasing his abilities than a threat, although the threat was still there. If the man was still following the Code of Nobility, then Louise figured that the man was willing to keep quiet about the mission. She had to be sure though.

"No, I will not tell you," Louise replied.

The boss looked over the petite girl. Because the two men beside her had remained rather quiet throughout the entire ordeal, the girl was most likely the leader of this small group.

He had noticed that she wore a brooch denoting the Tristain Academy of Magic. Whoever she was, she was most likely skilled to be sent on a mission on a different country.

"I swear upon my honor as one of Founder Brimir's chosen, and upon the House of Albion to which I adhere, that not a word shall pass these lips about your mission beyond this room. Should I break this oath, then my life is forfeit to do as you see fit," the boss declared as he raised his wand in a salute.

Even though the Code of Nobility was frequently taught, not many actually believed in it. However, the pink-haired girl before him apparently did. She had visibly relaxed upon his declaration.

"Although you seem honorable, I cannot tell you about it. I am honor-bound to prevent any information from leaking," Louse responded formally.

"I understand. We shall return you to La Rochelle in a while," the boss stated with a friendly smile. He extended his hand and put away his wand.

Louise stepped forward and took his hand and shook. When she grasped his hand, the Water Ruby reacted and a small rainbow formed. Taken by surprise, Louise leapt back. The boss quickly drew his wand and pointed it at the group.

"How did you get that ring?" he questioned.

In response, both Mikhail and Wardes stepped forward and brandished their weapons as well.

"I'll not ask again, how did you get that ring?" the boss said threateningly, almost accusatory.

"If you think that I stole it then you are sorely mistaken. Princess Henrietta herself gave it to-" Louise quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She had said too much. She then scowled and pointed her wand at the boss.

"Henrietta gave it to you?" The boss began to chuckle, "Oh Henrietta, only you would give a national treasure away so easily. Am I correct to assume that your mission involves Prince Wales Tudor?"

"Wha- How did you know?"

"Quite simple really. The Princess and I have agreed that the Water and Wind Rubies are to symbolize us when we cannot be present."

Quickly connecting the dots, Louise gasped, "You mean-"

"That I am Prince Wales Tudor? Yes I am," the boss took off his eyepatch and brown wig to reveal a handsome face and smooth blonde hair. "So, emissary of Henrietta, how may I help you?"

Louise hastily bowed to the Prince, "Prince Wales, I apologize for my earlier behavior. Please forgive me."

"Don't worry about it Miss..."

"Valliere, I am Louis Francoise Le Blanc De La Valliere."

"Miss Valliere, what were you sent here for? I am sure that Henrietta would not send someone so young to this war torn country for something unimportant."

"Ah yes, Mikhail, give me the letter that Henrietta wrote," Louise turned towards the Pawn. He took the letter out of his pocket, although it was really inside his Rift Treasury for safe keeping, and gave it to Louise. "This letter should explain everything."

Prince Wales read through the letter and frowned a bit. His face then returned to a friendly smile before looking back a Louise.

"I have the item that you are looking for back at the castle. We can return now and get it so that you can fulfill your mission."

"Thank you Prince Wales. If I may ask, why were you dressed like a pirate?" Louise asked. A prince dressing like a pirate was unheard of, and inappropriate as well.

"Oh yeah. To be honest, we were running low on supplies recently due to the war so we had to turn to this. I'm not happy with it but desperate times call for desperate measures."

"I understand."

.

.

The pirate ship was actually the Prince's personal ship, the Eagle and all of the pirates were part of the Royal Guard or the remnants of the Albion Navy. After taking some of the cargo ship's items, they were free to go. Guiche was reunited with the group and acted as if he knew it all along. The ship returned to Newcastle with the emissaries from Tristain.

* * *

Newcastle

The remaining Royalists were having a party that night, the last party before Reconquista attacks the castle with their full might. King Charles had announced the feast as soon as the Prince returned. For the night, all lines between social classes were discarded in favor of having one last fun night. Guiche was busy trying to court the women while Wardes was speaking to several of the soldiers. Prince Wales led Louise and Mikhail to his room to get the letter. After reading it one last time, he handed it over.

"Here is the letter Miss Valliere. Since it is getting late, why don't you stay the night and leave early tomorrow morning. That way you won't have to travel through the night and escape the fighting as well," Wales offered.

"Thank you Prince Wales…. I have a question, if you don't mind me asking," Louise said after giving the letter to Mikhail.

"Not at all. Go on."

"Why are you staying here? If you leave with me, then you can return to Princess Henrietta alive. Please you must think of what your death will do to her."

"I know Miss Valliere. However, I cannot abandon my men here. They have proven their loyalty to the crown by staying here and fighting. What kind of man would I be if I were to turn my back on them?"

"What kind of man would you be to let the love of your life marry a barbarian king?"

"Miss Valliere. I know what is going to happen. My death here would be for Tristain. We can at least weaken them to the point where they can't attack immediately. This will buy Tristain time to gather its troops…. It is for the best that I die here," Wales said weakly. Even the bravest man would falter when death is imminent. Both of them were silent for a while.

Mikhail chose that time to interject, "Master, it would be best if we leave now. The Royalists have no chance of victory tomorrow at its current level. My estimates indicate that they will also be unable to cover our escape tomorrow."

"So you're suggesting we leave now? No. We cannot just leave Prince Wales to die," Louise refused to believe that there was no hope. Unfortunately, Prince Wales thought otherwise.

"Miss Valliere, your retainer is right. We are currently on our last breath while Reconquista gets stronger each day. They are hardly the honorable sort so it is not unlikely that they while attack tonight. Unless something changes that, they will attack tonight and wipe us out. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do."

Louise was exasperated. She looked between the two men before turning to Mikhail, "Mikhail, can't you do something to help them out?"

"While there are some things that come to mind, I am reluctant to leave you here alone. After all, my first and foremost priority is your safety. Nothing else matters," Mikhail responded monotonously, as if he had said it numerous times before.

"So there _is _something that you can do?" Louise asked.

"Truly? You can truly improve our chances tomorrow? Pray, help us. We could use as much of an edge that we can," Wales had been ready to die, but he still wanted to live. However, he can't abandon his men, so anything to raise the chances of survival was accepted.

"Like I said, while there are some things that I can do, it will involve leaving Master here unprotected, which I am unwilling to do," the Pawn reminded.

"Mikhail, I command you to-" Louise began.

"Your safety. At all costs."

"It's fine Louise. I wouldn't want someone not involved to get injured for me," Wales tried to console Louise.

"Please Mikhail," Louise tried one more time.

With a deep sigh, Mikhail agreed, "Fine. Prince Wales, I am entrusting my Master to you for the duration of my absence. You shall protect her no matter what. Am I understood?"

Wales's face lit up, "Of course Sir Mikhail. Thank you for aiding us. I can never repay this debt."

Mikhail bowed to the two before gesturing to Prince Wales, "I need to speak to you privately."

Wales followed the white-haired man outside. When Mikhail checked that no one was around, he spoke, "Prince Wales, do not trust Sir Wardes. While he is an ally, he has given me reason to doubt his allegiance. Beware around him."

"I see, thank you for warning me."

"Keep my Master safe."

.

.

Mikhail had switched to **Vocation: Assassin** for his current mission: sneak into the Reconquista camp and disrupt their operations. The Reconquista camp had been fairly close, only about an hour away by horse. According to Wales, Reconquista had agreed to cease hostilities for one day. While many thought that the Reconquista was simply confident of their victory, Mikhail figured that something must have changed recently in their chain of command, something different enough that the soldiers had to get used to the change.

Mikhail was sitting in a tree just outside of the camp. By his estimates, the Reconquista army had about 10,000 troops here to finish off the Royalists army of roughly 500, although it was less of an army and more of a militia. More than enough to siege Newcastle. If there were Reconquista infiltrators within the castle, then rebels would have an even easier victory. The castle doors would be wide open for the Reconquista army to march right in.

'At least that's how I took down the Shadow Fort,' Mikhail thought.

The Siege of the Shadow Fort was the very first battle Mikhail fought in as a Knight of the Hunt. Ser Robert had besieged the fort for three weeks to no avail. Mikhail had been sent there along with his team of six to resolve that issue. Despite being known as unintelligent, the goblins who took over the fort had defended the outpost well. The only way to get in was to dig a hole underneath the wall. Even then, the goblins had discovered and sealed the hole fast enough to prevent reinforcements for Mikhail and his team. The then-Arisen had to manually open the gates to allow the 3rd,5th, and 6th Infantry Regiment of the Duke's army in. Regrettably the 3rd Infantry Regiment had suffered severe casualties against the 10 cyclops that the Goblin Horde had within. Mikhail had personally led his team against the cyclops to prevent more deaths. In the end, the Goblin Horde was routed and the Shadow Fort was recaptured.

Mikhail watched the movement of the soldiers below, carefully noting who the superior officers were. Then, the white-haired Pawn saw a familiar face.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Mikhail whispered to himself. In the middle of the camp was Fouquet walking around and giving orders to some soldiers. After the soldiers left, Fouquet returned to her tent. Mikhail used **Invisibility **to shroud himself and then walked right up to the tent and silently enter it.

Inside, Fouquet was sitting at a desk writing a letter. Mikhail peered over her shoulder and read parts of the letter, mostly about her sister Tiffania and how Fouquet would be unable to return soon due to her job. The man noticed that Fouquet had signed the letter as Matilda, presumably her real name.

As Fouquet began to stand up, she was forced back into her seat by an invisible hand. Before she could even react, a blade was at her throat. She reached for her wand but found it missing. She heard a crack and saw that the attacker had broken her wand. With the sound of a gust of wind, the **Invisibility** skill wore off and Fouquet saw a man clothed in black behind her.

"That's the third wand of yours that I have broken. Do you want a fourth?" the man spoke. Fouquet knew this man. Although his face was hidden behind a mask, Fouquet recognized the voice.

"Second, you never broke the first one," Fouquet replied nonchalantly.

"I accidentally stepped on the first one when I was trying to cut you."

"Oh really..."

"Aren't you supposed to be dead already?" Mikhail questioned.

"Well, it seems like my employers still needed me alive specifically for this mission."

"I see. What was your role in the upcoming battle then."

"Why should I tell you?"

"Tiffania."

Fouquet paled for a second before turning red with anger, "If you so much as touch a single hair on her, you will die."

"Your role," Mikhail continued stoically.

"….Fine. I am supposed to help bring down the walls with the other Earth-mages," Fouquet answered while giving the Assassin her most threatening glare.

"Give me their names."

"John, Maximilian, Weyland, Henry, Richard, and Elizabeth. All of them should have this badge on them," Fouquet pointed to a badge with a hammer on it.

"Good. How much does Reconquista pay you?"

"I don't see how this is relevant right now."

"How much _Matilda?_" Mikhail asked once more while drawing a thin line of blood across her neck.

Fouquet glared at the man once more, "15,000 ecu and my sister's safety. An additional 10,000 upon completion."

Mikhail tossed a heavy bag money onto the table, "You will work for me. I offer your sister's safety and 1,000,000 ecu." While talking to Professor Colbert about various things, the subject of money had been a topic. Surprisingly the currency of Tristain, the ecu, also commonly called new gold, was worth less than the currency of Gransys. The reason was because Tristain's currency was not actually gold but a substitute metal, the real thing was kept somewhere else; whereas the currency of Gransys was pure gold.

"One million!?"

"Not enough? How about two million," Mikhail offered.

Fouquet looked at the bag of money on the table; the table was slowly beginning to break from the weight of the bag. She swallowed and then turned to Mikhail, "And how will you protect my sister?"

"Two million ecu is enough to move somewhere else, is it not? And I'm sure you can handle protecting her when you are by her side," Mikhail reasoned. "All I need you to do is walk away right now and answer my call whenever I need you." He then dropped another bag of money before Matilda.

The debate going on in Matilda's mind was quick. Stay loyal to Reconquista and most likely die or return home with two million ecu; Reconquista's offer of 25,000 ecu was enough to live comfortably for at least a decade. Two million was enough to not have to work ever again and live a lavish lifestyle.

'Heck, you could probably buy half of Germania for two million,' Matilda thought. The decision was easy to make.

"Alright. Deal."

Mikhail nodded and then watched Matilda pack up and leave. After that, he went on the hunt for the other Earth-mages.

.

.

Mikhail returned to Newcastle after roughly seven hours, with two of those hours spent simply riding to and from the camp. It was almost dawn. Mikhail had assassinated all of the Earth-mages and had poisoned all of the water supply. He had also sabotaged all the siege weaponry.

Mikhail had immediately looked for Louise upon his return. He found her in the church sleeping on one of the pews. According to her facial expression, it was not a good place to sleep on. Wales was standing by the altar. He had noticed Mikhail's thanks to a Line-class spell **Mist Security**. Mikhail walked up to Wales and allowed him to finish praying before he spoke.

"Master truly wishes that you do not die here."

"I know," Wales responded.

"If she commands me to, then I will forcibly take you with us."

"I figured."

"What will you do now?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm praying. What do you think I should do?"

"It's your choice. You have free will for a reason. Just be prepared to accept the consequences of your choice."

"You must at least have a preference."

"….I want you to go along with Master's wishes. Does that satisfy your question?"

"Haha, I guess."

"So this is where you were, Prince Wales," Wardes said, surprising the Prince. Wardes had noticed the spell and casted a counter-spell to hide himself. "And where were you during the party Sir Serolius?"

"Wardes. I see that you are finally revealing your true intent," Mikhail deadpanned.

"What ever do you mean?" Wardes replied innocently. He then drew his sword-wand. Mikhail glanced at Louise before returning his gaze to Wardes. His short distraction was enough of an opening for Wardes to zoom forward. He had buffed himself as soon as he drew his weapon. Mikhail watched as Wardes drew closer to Wales. Mikhail was unable to do anything fast enough to prevent Wardes running Wales through with his sword-wand. In just the blink of an eye, Wales was mortally wounded. Wardes retreated several steps after doing the deed. Mikhail grabbed onto Derf and shot towards the Griffin Knight.

Mikhail sent several slashes towards Wardes, although he was able to deflect the weaker attacks and dodge the stronger ones. To prevent Wardes from casting, the Pawn had kept the pressure on him. Whenever Wardes would try to back off, Mikhail advanced. In a pure melee battle, Wardes was outmatched. The only thing that he could try was to attack from afar. He assumed that the Pawn, while able to use magic, was better in swordsmanship because of his reliance on swords.

After several cycles of retreating, Wardes decided to try something risky. He in between one of Mikhail's attacks, Wardes unleashed **Razor Winds **to try and push Mikhail back. Mikhail used Derf to block; the sword greedily drank up the magic spell to Wardes's astonishment. Mikhail used this chance to try and decapitate Wardes. The Griffin Knight was able to bend back and avoid the slash, but he had opened his guard to a follow up attack. Mikhail stepped forward, using the momentum of his swing to stay in rhythm. He then punched Wardes in the abdomen and followed through by forcibly continuing the trajectory of his punch. In effect, Wardes ended up on the floor. Mikhail then nailed Wardes onto the ground with Derf and kicked the sword-wand out of his grasp.

Mikhail summoned his archistaff into his hand and then looked the man in the eye, "Farewell."

In a last ditch effort to survive, Wardes took out his spare wand and casted one more spell. The wind spell was successful in hitting Mikhail; however, the Sorcerer did not even react. All that he did was frown at Wardes before incinerating him with **Grand** **Comestion.** He then took Derf out of Wardes and watched the man be enveloped in flames so hot that it seemed to be white.

The Pawn went to check on Louise. He was worried at how she did not wake up amidst all the fighting.

"Don't worry, she's just under a sleeping spell. Here, let me undo that," Wales struggled. He was still managing to cling onto life despite a hole in his lung. Mikhail looked at the dying man in front of him. Then, he asked one simple question:

"I ask you: what is it that makes you alive?"

Mikhail admired the man's tenacity. Judging by how much blood was leaking out of him, the man should be dead by now. It seems that he was still living by force of will alone.

'_Yes, stoke the flame of your will to survive…._' Mikhail smiled as a past memory surfaced.

Wales knew that the question was more than what it seems to be at first glance. The Prince seriously considered the question. After a few moments of thought, he finally came to a conclusion.

"My people, my friends, my family, ….my love. They are what keeps me from dying," Wales muttered with difficulty.

"And so the die is cast. So be it."


	12. Chapter 11 - The Seneschal

**Chapter 11 - The Seneschal**

**Hey guys, chapter 11 is up. I had trouble with this chapter and that is why it is a bit late. So yeah, nothing much to say here.**

**Grand Seism has been upgraded a lot, its OPness been turned up a notch.**

**Grand Seism according to FoZ standards**

**Seism = Void-Void-Earth-Earth**

**High Seism = Void-Void-Void-Earth-Earth**

**Grand Seism = Void-Void-Void-Earth-Earth-Earth**

**Before you complain, yes I know that a Hexagon-class Magic does not really exist in FoZ. However, Mikhail is the Seneschal, which pretty much makes him a God. That is why it's possible. Also, since dark and holy magic does not exist in FoZ, it is considered Void magic. For now, he doesn't have all of his Seneschal powers available; he only has his Arisen spells (although they are exponentially stronger than usual due to his long life), some spells that he created, and command over Nature.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Albion – Newcastle

"And so the die is cast. So be it," Mikhail said. Wales looked at the white-haired man in confusion before coughing up more blood.

"I guess this is the end for me. I… Henri…etta," Wales muttered before he finally succumbed to his injuries. Mikhail took a step forward with a red stone in his hand. The stone was in the shape of a human heart and pulsed with an eerie red glow.

As Mikhail approached the slain man, the room began to smell of death. Although the sun was just beginning to break the horizon, the room seemed to darken as a cold chill rolled in. The sounds of bells tolling in the distance filled the church as everything else grew silent. The bells grew louder until they seemed to be from the church's own bells at the top of the tower. And then they stopped. Suddenly, moans of agony and shrieks of terror erupted, eventually descending into a whisper which reverberated throughout the building. The space behind the Pawn began to swirl and grow increasingly dark until there was a flowing abyss five times bigger than the man. The darkness began to morph into a vaguely human shape. A large scythe was pulled out from the center along with a bright lantern. Mikhail knew who this was. It was Death, the Jet Black Stalker.

Death's form looked at the dead prince, then the still-standing man, and then to the burnt body. It floated over to the burned body before raising his scythe and bringing it down to reap the soul the was still clinging to the body. It then floated towards the Prince. It stopped when the Pawn stepped in front of it. It immediately swung its scythe through the man obstructing its path. The giant scythe flew through the man to no effect. It then spoke for the first time in a long while.

"You… the throne lies empty… your fate… tied to it… still… true Seneschal," Death muttered.

Mikhail had not been expecting that. Yes, he still called himself Seneschal, but only out of habit. To know that he is not yet free from his position was disheartening. He tested to see if the powers as Seneschal was still within his grasp for they had grown to be second nature after his extended time wielding them. Another disappointment. The Godsbane blade must have suppressed most of the powers instead of killing him. The Seneschal speculated that with time, his powers should return to full strength. The authority that the position gave him still allowed him command over many things by default though.

"Upon my title as the Seneschal, I proclaim thy duty finished here for this man shall not meet his end here," Mikhail spoke. He then rested the Wakestone in his hand on Wales's body. The stone glowed brightly for a moment and then it dimmed and started to disintegrate. The Reaper looked at the disappearing stone and then vanished in a swirl of darkness. Mikhail let out a sigh of disappointment and then turned to the Prince. The body stirred and then stood.

"What the? I thought I died?" Wales sounded confused. Mikhail looked at the man and then spoke.

"You have been given a second lease on life. Do not waste it. Now then, why had my Master been under a sleep spell?"

Taken by surprise with Mikhail's abruptness, Wales quickly answered the question, "Well, when you told me to be wary of Wardes, I had some of my men do some snooping. When they did not return, I knew something was wrong. Since Louise seemed to trust him wholeheartedly, I put her to sleep before trying to trap Wardes here in the church. I suspected that he was working for Reconquista and may have been sent here to open the gates tomorrow. I had some of my men surround the premises, although it seems like they are dead. Since you had tasked me with Louise's safety, I decided that she would be safer here within my sights and it seems like I was correct." Wales put on a grim smile and then turned to the undamaged altar. He prayed for his men.

Louise woke up shortly after and was shocked to see the mayhem. Mikhail quickly got her up to speed with what had transpired although she refused to believe that Wardes was a traitor. With Wales support, Louise begrudgingly accepted the claim; further evidence against Wardes arose when his belongings were searched. He had a letter stating his rank in the Reconquista army as well as a white mask, probably used for concealing his appearance when confronting people.

.

.

The Royalists in Newcastle woke to a surprisingly peaceful morning. They had expected to be woken by cannon fire, not by songbirds. Nonetheless, they all went to their battle stations expecting a fight. What they did not expect was their white-haired guest to walk out the front gates and ride a horse towards the enemy camps.

Around an hour later, all of them felt the very island shake. They were puzzled, the floating island had never experienced an earthquake ever before. The strange phenomena put them even more on edge until the guest returned. Prince Wales happily greeted the man and thanked him continuously. When one soldier asked him what had brought this about, Wales answered him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have won this battle thanks to the efforts of this man. He has given us a fighting chance at victory in this war!"

The halls were deathly quiet one moment and then exploded into cheer the next. Many of the soldiers hugged and kissed each other as many had believed that that was their last day alive. Many of them went to the Pawn and thanked him profusely as well.

When everything settled down, Mikhail turned towards the Prince and began, "With this, consider my debt to you for keeping Louise safe repaid. As long as there is nothing else to be said, my Master and I will take our leave. We are still on a mission for the crown after all."

Louise decided to take that moment to try and plead her case one last time, "Are you sure you don't want to see Henrietta by coming with us Prince Wales?"

Wales smiled gently at Louise, "I cannot abandon my people now Louise. You know that."

"How about you come to Tristain to seek military aid? The crown of Albion and Tristian are family after all," Louise reasoned. Many of the Royalists were eavesdropping by then and the prospect of reinforcement made them all agree that Wales should go to Tristain to acquire help. Prince Wales refused again, saying that any soldier could be messenger for this. King Charles eventually had woken up due to all the cheering and had heard of the good news. He had also listened to what Louise and Wales were currently discussing. He made up his mind and then spoke.

"Prince Wales. I command you to travel to Tristain and seek aid for our cause. I'm sure that they'll be reluctant to refuse a direct request from the royalty of Albion. Take a few of the Royal Guard with you and leave with these two. I will take command here and hold out until you return with reinforcements."

Louise smiled. She knew that the Prince would never go against the King's direct orders. A frown flashed on the Prince's face briefly before he bowed to the King. "Per your command," Wales said. He then departed to prepare for the journey.

Louise watched Wales until he left and then turned to Mikhail. "What did you do exactly to stop the invasion? Was the quake earlier your doing?"

"I figured that the easiest way to stop the invasion was to erase the cause: the Reconquista army. And theat is what I did, destroy the army. The quake is most likely caused by my spell **Grand Seism. **Don't worry about it."

Louise looked at Mikhail blankly before walking away and muttering, "Don't worry about it he says. Shake the whole Founder-damn island and all he says is don't worry about it. Pah."

.

.

The duo, the Prince, and Guiche, whom was almost forgotten, traveled back to Tristain by a cargo ship. The Prince soon got over his anger at being ordered away and created small talk with the passengers. The only one who did not really speak to him was Mikhail, but that was to be expected. Thanks to the ship, the group made it to Tristania within a day.

* * *

Tristania – Royal Palace

The group had reached Tristania about midday and were hoping to report to Henrietta immediately. Because of that simple wish, they decided to fly right into the Royal Palace's courtyard. Before the group could actually step foot onto the ground, however, they were held at wand point by several members of the Royal Guard.

"Who are you and what are you doing here!?" a guard demanded. The crew flying the ship raised a white flag and then had Prince Wales speak.

"My name is Prince Wales Tudor and I come to seek aid for my country of Albion against the Reconquista menace," he shouted. While he knew that everything would be alright, he was still uneasy having a dozen wands pointed at him.

The guards looked at their commanding officer looking for his response. Before he could say anything, Henrietta stepped onto the courtyard followed by a woman with short blonde hair in a blue surcoat and white cloak.

"Wales!" Henrietta exclaimed in joy. She ran up to the Prince and literally sent him to the ground with a hug. The blonde woman followed the Princess after ordering the guards to lower their weapons. She knew what the Prince looked like and could immediately tell that the man was not an imposter. She did not know who the others were, though, and looked at a certain white-haired man with suspicion. The man in question was easily identified as someone who had spent years in the military despite his relatively youthful appearance. Since she had never seen the person in the Tristanian military before, that meant the man was a foreigner and possible threat.

Henrietta finally regained her composure when the lady beside her purposely coughed loudly. With a slight blush on her face, she stood up and offered the downed Prince a hand.

"Ahem… it is great to see you in fine health Prince Wales. Ah, Louise. I see you have returned as well. Why don't you both come inside and we'll discuss things more in depth," the Princess said. With the Princess's indirect approval of the guests, the guards put away their wands and most began to disperse. Some remained to fulfill their obligation of welcoming a member Tristain's sister country's royalty and of course to protect the Princess.

Henrietta led Wales, Louise, Guiche, and Mikhail inside. They eventually ended up in a lavishly decorated room, one probably used to house meetings with guests. Guiche had disappeared as soon as he stepped into the palace, claiming that he needed to use the restroom even though it was abundantly clear that he went skirt-chasing. All along the way, the blonde woman kept an eye on Mikhail.

Mikhail remained silent as he diligently followed his Master. Several times he glanced over at the blonde knight, at least he thought she was a knight due to the woman carrying a rapier. The woman had constantly looked his way when she thought he wouldn't notice. He admired the knight's diligence in her role as bodyguard. If only more people took their job as seriously as she did, there would be less assassinated monarchs. Mikhail was reminded of a certain knight from long ago who was the epitome of a bodyguard. Frederick the Wary was his name. Although he was a bodyguard, he was also unofficially his charges' steward as well.

Mikhail's reminiscing was cut short when he heard a door click shut. He looked at his surroundings and saw that he was very close to walking into a door. On the other side of the door he could hear Princess Henrietta speaking to his Master. He then went to stand on the side of the door only to notice that someone else was standing there. Said person was the knight that accompanied the Princess. The knight as blatantly staring at Mikhail now and the Pawn felt obliged to do the same. He didn't do it though and went to stand on the other side of the door.

After several minutes of silence, the knight spoke, "Who are you?"

"I am the Pawn of Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere," the Pawn replied matter-of-factly.

"Name?"

"Who's asking?"

With a huff, the knight stated her name, "Agnes de Milan. Your name?"

"Mikhail Ecto Serolius."

"Loyalties?"

"Louise only."

With that, Agnes narrowed her eyes at the Pawn. That meant the man could potentially be a threat in the future. "I see."

.

.

After what seemed to be an hour, it really was about twenty minutes, Louise came out of the room.

"Mikhail, where is the letter?"

Mikhail retrieved the letter from his Rift Treasury and handed it to Louise. He had made it so that onlookers would think that it was pulled from a pocket on the inside of his crimson robe. Louise took the letter and then went back inside the room; she looked disappointed as she closed the door.

A little while later, Louise and the two secret lovers emerged from the room. Mikhail noticed that Princess Henrietta looked like she had been crying while Prince Wales looked defeated. He glanced over at his Master and wasn't surprised to see her with an angry look. She was also holding a small book in her hands. Louise stomped past Mikhail and the Pawn bowed to the two lovers before hurrying after his Master. The ride back to the Academy had been silent. When they reached the school, the sun was just beginning to set. Louise quickly dismounted the carriage that Henrietta provided and dashed for her room.

Inside her room, Louise was screaming into her pillow as the Pawn simply stood by a wall.

"Founder dammit Henrietta! Why are you so stubborn? Tristain is not weak and we can defeat Reconquista without the help of Germania! Ugh! … Why are you so selfless? Why? Why don't you seek your own happily ever after?"

Louise was upset that even though Wales was right there during the meeting, Henrietta still insisted on abandoning their relationship in favor of the political marriage. The worst part was that Wales had actually supported that notion, claiming that it was for the best. With one final scream, Louise sat up and took several deep breaths before looking at the book that Henrietta had given her.

It was the actual Founder's Prayer Book. The Princess had wanted her to write a speech for her wedding as a bridesmaid. While she was honored that the Princess wanted her to be a bridesmaid, she was nervous about giving a speech about how wonderful the marriage was going to be and all other kinds of flowery words supporting it. It was hard to lie about something like this for Louise. Nonetheless, this was a request from the Princess herself so she couldn't exactly refuse. Deciding that she's had enough love drama for the night, Louise went to sleep.

.

.

The next day Louise woke up bright and early to work on her required speech. She had skipped breakfast and just focused on writing a draft. The large amount of crumbled paper balls littered around the room was evidence that she was not successful. Mikhail had took it upon himself to clean up after his Master. However, he was fighting a losing battle; the white-haired man's Master was producing more trash than he could take out. Still, he was determined to serve faithfully.

'Oh man… is this what Eclair feels when she has to clean up after me? Eclair, I have a new found respect for you now,' Mikhail thought.

Louise gave a great sigh and then spoke, "Mikhail, I think I could use a break for now. I'm also feeling hungry. Let's go grab something to eat."

Mikhail followed his Master to Alviss Hall and then left his Master there to retrieve some food from the kitchen.

"Oh, hello Sir Serolius. How are you today?" Siesta said after spotting Mikhail in the kitchen.

"Good morning Siesta. I am doing well. Anything you need help with?" Mikhail responded.

"It's fine, you don't need to help me. Besides, this is my last week before I can take off."

"I see. Well, don't hesitate to ask me for help if you need it." With that, Mikhail left with a plate of food.

When Mikhail returned to his Master, he noticed that she was talking to some friends, Tabitha and Kirche. Kirche was the first one to notice Mikhail's return.

"Oh there you are darling, I was wondering when I can see you again. How could you just leave me alone like that?… Are you into abandonment play? I am okay with that," the red-head spoke. The Seneschal stared blankly at the girl before resuming putting his Master's plate of food down.

"Morning," Tabitha said. Always the bookworm as ever, Tabitha was currently reading a new book. Mikhail nodded at the blue-haired woman and then greeted her as well.

"So, Louise where have you been this past couple of days? You suddenly disappearing right after the banquet with Princess Henrietta makes me think that you had quite the adventure," Kirche resumed her interrogation. Although Tabitha was reading her book, she was also slightly leaning towards the conversation as well. Mikhail watched the three girls discuss things for about half an hour before his Master finished her food. Mikhail took the plate back to the kitchen and then followed his Master on a stroll through the Academy. Along the way, he noticed that the school was relatively empty compared to how it usually was.

"Master, where has all the others gone?" Mikhail asked.

"The students are on vacation all this week and next week so most of them went home. I'm staying here to work on my speech for the wedding," Louise explained.

"What wedding?" Kirche asked. She and Tabitha had been following the duo ever since they left the hall.

"The one between Princess Henrietta your Emperor Albrecht III."

"Really? Oh yeah, my parents were making a fuss about it in the last letter they sent. Hey, aren't you a distant relative of the Royal Family here?"

"Yeah…," Louise wasn't sure what the Germanian was trying say put the smirk on her face gave Louise a bad feeling about it.

"Well my family is also related to the crown of Germania. You know what that means? We'll be family!"

Louise paled. Family? With the Zerbst? For a second, Louise fainted while still standing. Mikhail noticed it and quickly grabbed Louise so that she didn't hurt herself falling. Louise was jolted awake when she felt her familiar grab her.

"Thanks," she muttered. Then she turned to the smiling Germanian and returned a forced smile. "That… would be wonderful," she forced. Simply saying that was giving her a massive migraine.

Kirche dropped her smile and her face contorted in digust, "Relax. I also don't want that to happen. Just thinking about it send shivers up my spine."

Mikhail smiled at how Louise and Kirche had been getting along. He looked at Tabitha, who was still reading, and then sighed. He knew that the bespectacled girl could also be counted on to help Louise.

* * *

Unknown Location

A cloaked figure was walking the streets of a megalopolis and looking at all the sights. The person stopped to look into a bakery through its window. The person's visage was reflected by the window and showed a blonde woman with her hair braided into a bun. She had a youthful but stern face and her eyes were of the deepest blue.

After ogling at the baked goods for a few seconds, the woman wiped off the involuntary drool from her lips and kept walking. She was marveled by the giant skyscrapers that were reaching towards the heavens. Due to the distractions, she bumped into a little girl who was no more than ten years old. The little girl's ice cream was smeared all over the woman's cloak.

"Ah, no! My ice cream!" the girl complained. She grabbed the cloak and began tugging at it. The cloak shifted to reveal a pair of metal grieves and an elaborate metal cuirass and metal gauntlets. All of the armor were of gleaming metal and intricately designed. The woman also had a beautiful rapier on her left hip. The little girl saw this and was stunned. She then looked at the woman with an awestruck expression. "Are you a knight?" she said with escalating excitement.

"Indeed. Prithee keep it a secret tiny one. 'Twould be unfortunate to hast mine identity uncover'd," the woman replied. Her archaic language confused the little girl.

"What?"

"Doth thou not understand? Nay matter, hither's some chinks. Go get yourself some snacks," the woman handed the girl a pouch of coins. The girl took the pouch and opened it to see about twenty golden coins. She then looked back up at the woman to see her smiling down on her.

"Thanks Miss Knight!" the girl exclaimed.

The woman watched as the little girl ran away into a crowd of humans. The woman sighed and then continued to wonder the streets. She looked at a crowd of people not moving. As she walked past them, a hand suddenly reached out and pulled her back. Just as she fell backwards, a car sped past with a loud honk.

"Do you want to die!? What the hell were you thinking!? The light is clearly red. That means DON'T CROSS!" her savior yelled. The person who saved her was a man wearing a black business suit and red tie.

"Sorry. Thank thou f'r saving me. I'm afraid I doth not wot much of this place," the knight replied. The savior sighed deeply and rubbed her temples.

"It's fine. Just don't do that next time."

"Fair enough. Say, what art these metal carriages? How doth they move without horses?"

The woman gave the knight a blank look. "Seriously? You've never heard of a car? What backwater town were you from." The woman then looked down at her watch and then gave a shriek of surprise. "Ahh! I'm late!" She then ran off.

The knight watched the woman leave before looking back at the road. She then looked at the light that the woman had pointed at and waited until it turned into a man walking. She followed everyone else who started walking and crossed the road.

Eventually the knight made her way to a beach without any more near death experiences. Breathing in the salty air, the woman smiled contentedly.

"Time sure dost fly. I cannot believe that it hath already been ov'r a million years. Everything hath changed. This place is nay longer a bawbling fishing village. Cassardis, it hath been too long but I am finally home. …I wonder if that stone is still around."

The woman walked along the shore for a while until she reached an empty cove. At the very center of the cove stood a small boulder the size of barrel with glyphs carved onto one of its faces. As the woman approached, the glyphs flared to life and then glowed a majestic blue. The woman placed her hand on it and felt the calming presence that it bestowed to all of her kind.

The stone brought on a nostalgic wave of memories. Memories of great battles and mythical beasts. Giant fortresses and vast underground tunnels. Fires wreaking havoc across the land while brave men do battle with goblins. And the stone also brought memories of one man. Their days spent journeying together, their days spent living together, their nights full of passion. The day the man sacrificed his humanity for the world, the day the man was cursed with immortality, the day the man became the Seneschal.

At first, the man did like what his predecessors did, keep the world moving, beginning the Cycle of Destruction whenever his will faltered. The world was stuck in that same, never changing era for nigh-infinity. And then the man found someone. A new Arisen, one worthy of being the next keeper of the world. The Chosen Arisen, as he called it, was destined for greatness. The Arisen did not pick up the sword and shield, the staff, nor the bow and daggers. No, the Arisen picked up something else entirely. It picked up a quill and parchment. Through many trials and errors, the Arisen crafted an entirely new weapon: Science. Through science, the Arisen created other weapons: the gun. With the gun, the Arisen began their perilous journey with their own party of Pawns. The Arisen braved through untold horrors and deranged men. They slayed the World Dragon and explored the depths of the Everfall. They scoured the Bitterblack Isle that was ridden with death and triumphed over the demonic entity that could have destroyed the entire cycle. They searched through the Rift and battled the Everlasting Dragon, emerging victorious every time. They traveled the world until they made their way to the throne.

With the choice laid bare before them, the Arisen chose a different option: change the world with the people. And so, the Arisen descended back into the world and led a great revolution. The Seneschal watched on as the Arisen truly changed the world, and even after their inevitable death, the world kept changing. The Seneschal admired that one. Wishing to see just how far the humans could go, the Seneschal decided to postpone the Cycle of Destruction. After several centuries, the Seneschal enacted the Cycle of Destruction once more, longing to see how the humans progression could effect it. Surprisingly, the humans did not need the aid of the Arisen this time, only needing it to deal the final blow. That was how the 4598th cycle under his rule ended. The 4599th cycle began a few decades later. The World Dragon was vastly superior this time and yet it was once more struck down. Impressed by the humans' power, the Seneschal stopped the Cycles from then on. He did something else instead. He started to help the world instead of simply watching and willing its continued existence.

He and his ever-present companion spent millennia nurturing the people, helping them grow and expand. They experienced civilizations achieve new heights and then crumble to dust, whole pages of history lost to time. They saw how humanity many times took several steps back instead of forward. Nevertheless, the two stood by humanity no matter what. Until that one fateful day when the Seneschal decided that the people did not need somebody to watch over them anymore; that the people can keep the world moving without the help of a higher being. To prevent another person from taking the throne and possibly restarting the cycle, the man took his own life with the Godsbane blade.

.

.

That day was still fresh in the woman's mind. The pain was still as real as ever. And then she heard something, a whisper so quiet that she could just barely pick it up. So faint that she thought it was just her imagination. But it wasn't. It repeated itself, this time louder. The voice that she never thought she would hear ever again called her. She looked down at where her hand was: the Rift Stone. The woman started to tear up, the voice calling her reverberating through her entire being. She covered her mouth with her other hand and sobbed. Finally calming down, she steeled herself once more to face her one and only Master.

"Mikhail, your Eclair is coming." The woman was then sucked into the dark Rift.


	13. Chapter 12 - The Calm

**Chapter 12 – The Calm**

**Here's chapter 12. Not much to say about it. It was a fun chapter to write though. There is an OC in this chapter but he does not really play a big role. He is from Gransys and is a full human, not a Pawn or Arisen.**

**Silentium cannot be classified in FoZ terms.**

**As always, read, comment, enjoy. x2 (I forgot to say that in the last chapter.)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Tristain Academy of Magic

It had been a two week since Louise and Mikhail returned from Albion. The students returned from their vacation and classes were going on as usual. It was noon and many students were currently either outside in the courtyard or in Alviss Hall to dine. Louise had her lunch brought to her room, by Mikhail, and was still trying to think up of something to say at Henrietta's wedding. With a shriek of frustration, she crumbled the piece of paper she was writing on into a ball and threw it over her shoulder.

Mikhail had been doing well these past few weeks. His Master's obsession with writing a speech had led to her being in the Academy the entire time. That let the Pawn have a moment of peace for his Master was not going to be in danger. The time with his Master these weeks had also awakened one of his previously unknown abilities: catching paper balls at an instinctive level. As soon as his Master grumbled in frustration, the man would move to a position that he expected the wad of paper would be thrown. Every time he was correct and found some satisfaction that this sped up his cleaning time tremendously.

The weeks had also allowed Mikhail to think some things through. He suspected that, at the very least, Professor Colbert and Headmaster Osmond knew something about his true nature. Colbert had been excessively polite to him whenever they spoke. Osmond had also acted cautiously around him but not overtly so. The other professors generally either ignored him or thought that he was a new teacher at the Academy and greeted him as such. Through interactions with them, Mikhail had gleamed some more knowledge on Halkeginia in general.

While looking out of the window, the man saw something else that he had gotten closer to over the weeks: Sylphid. The young dragoness had proven to be a comfortable presence to be around whenever Louise got out of her room to get some fresh air in the open court. Through his conversations with the young dragon, Mikhail was surprised to find out that she was a _real_ dragon. As in a real, fire-breathing, flying reptile. The dragons that Mikhail had experience with, while powerful and vicious enough to be worthy of being called a dragon, they were ultimately fallen Arisens or Pawns that were transformed into the reptilian beast. And as far as he has seen, the "dragons" of Gransys were more powerful than the ones in Halkeginia. Granted, the dragons in Gransys were technically linked to a higher being rather existing as a natural animal.

Back onto Sylphid, it appears to be that the dragons in Halkeginia were, in general, less intelligent than her. She was very likely one of the last of her kind due to her species' scales being a powerful ingredient for all kinds of magecraft that they were hunted to the brink of extinction. Her kind, the Rhyme Dragons, were the only species capable of human speech and actually created a language of their own. Their language was close enough to Wyrmspeak that she could converse with Mikhail fluently after one lesson in the language. From their conversations, Mikhail also learned that she was pitifully naive about the world around her, although that could be forgiven because she was practically a hatchling. She had just emerged from her egg a few days before she was summoned by her Master.

Mikhail watched as the students outside began to return inside the building. Figuring that lunch break was over, the man walked over to his Master to inform her.

"Master, lunch break is over. It is time to return to class," Mikhail said. With an exasperated sigh, Louise nodded and left for class.

.

.

Professor Colbert entered the classroom with a strange mechanical device. When the device was wheeled into the center of the room, Colbert began his explanation.

"Ahem. Class, I would like to show you a project of mine. This device is powered by a small fire spell to start but is completely autonomous after that. With this device, the possibilities are near endless! Watch."

By the end of his little explanation, Colbert was visibly withholding his excitement. Colbert ignited some powder near one end of the device and then it roared to life, with some parts of it spinning or pumping. Just as soon, it then broke down. The entire class was looking at the device with a questioning look. One student was brave enough to say something that almost everyone in the room was thinking.

"This is supposed to the endless possibilities? No thanks. I think that magic is far better than that." Many of the students muttered their agreements and Colbert had a strained smile on his face. Louise just looked indifferent to it because she was currently thinking about something else and ignored the events of the class.

Mikhail, however, was staring at the balding man with an approving look. He noticed the students underwhelming response to the breakthrough of the century and sought to fix that. He stood up and then walked towards the device while clapping. His clapping and the emptiness next to her brought Louise out of her thoughts to focus on class.

"Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful Professor Colbert. I see that this continent is not lost cause after all. With someone of your genius, I'm sure that Tristain will one day rise to be a world superpower. I cannot allow a piece of human ingenuity to be scoffed out so easily and possibly deny it its purpose," Mikhail said as he approached the device. "Those who do not see this device's potential is blind. This engine is the future. Let me point you into the right direction."

With that, Mikhail pulled out some tools from his robe and worked on the device. Colbert was apprehensive about someone else touching his invention, though it quickly turned into awe as he watched the man before him work. About a minute of tinkering later, the man retreated and spoke once more.

"There you go. With this, the device had been upgraded and its power is equal to ten horses," he said. The device was now humming steadily. The students watched as the white-haired man returned to his spot next to Louise. Eventually, the same student as before spoke again.

"I still don't see it. Whatever. Professor, please continue with the regular lessons."

"Ah right," the professor said. The class then delved into how Fire magic could be used for less harmful tasks and then to how it was dangerous and that it should always be used with caution.

.

.

Class ended and Louise back into her room thinking about how to begin her speech. She was working on it until dinner and past that. Colbert had wanted to speak to him about the improvements made to his machine and to ask about Mikhail's apparent knowledge in that field. Unfortunately for the professor, Mikhail did not give him information and only said that "humans can figure it out on their own" before leaving with Louise.

It was getting late as Mikhail idly watched the moons travel across the sky. He heard his Master give a sigh before she changed clothes and went to bed. Mikhail left the room when Louise fell asleep to help the staff clean the school. He had gotten along well with the maid Siesta during these late nights of peace. After she had returned from her vacation, she was happier in general and her mood spike whenever Mikhail was around to help her. At first she was surprised to know that a noble would actually help out but eventually reasoned that Mikhail was one of a kind.

When all of the jobs that needed to be done were finished, the man returned to his Master's room to rest.

.

.

The next morning, Mikhail woke with a jerk of his leg, nearly kicking the chair by his foot. With a silent yawn, the man stretched and then went to wake his Master. She had repeatedly made it clear that she was to be woken up at dawn each day and Mikhail obliged. With a yawn, the petite girl woke up. Mikhail went through the usual morning routine consisting of dressing her, brushing her hair, and setting her clothes into laundry pile.

Louise went to work on her speech as soon as she could that morning. The wedding was only a few weeks away by now and she still hadn't think of anything to saw. She was irritated at the Princess for going through with the wedding which resulted in her having to do this. She was still upset ever the whole thing with Wales but began to relent, accepting the fact the true love was irrelevant for the royalty. The Prince was still in Tristain because the situation in Albion took a turn for the worse a few days after he departed. King Charles had foolishly led the remnants of the Royalists into an ambush and they were routed with the king's death. Albion had fallen to the Reconquista.

For a few days after receiving the news, Wales refused to meet with anyone and secluded himself into his room. He finally came out when Henrietta coerced him into at least eating something. He emerged from his room as a changed man. He had the look of man thirsting for vengeance and no one could fault him for that. Currently, he was trying to build up Tristain's military for the inevitable war with his former homeland. Reconquista hadn't attacked yet because the were not ready for war with another country when they had just won one. They were most likely hard pressed to replace the men that Mikhail had killed when he struck that one time.

Louise was busy writing when she heard a knock at her door. She ignored it and continued focusing on her speech. The knock came one more time and Mikhail went over to open the door. He was greeted with a dark skinned woman jumping him. Said woman rubbed herself against Mikhail suggestively. From the frown on the man's face, he was evidently clear that he was less than pleased. Louise turned around to see who it was to be bothering her so early.

"I should have known. What do you want Kirche?" Louise deadpanned. Mikhail had extracted himself from the Germanian's hug and was currently in the middle of slamming the door in her face. Louise's attempt at starting a conversation had made him stop and welcome the red-head in. She took a step in and then spoke her intentions.

"Well I've been thinking. Since you obviously haven't had any luck in writing that speech, I was thinking that maybe a change in scenery was the perfect way to inspire something."

"Huh. That's actually not a bad idea. But we can't just leave school," Louise countered, grateful for the distraction.

"I'm sure that the school can make an exception for this," Kirche said.

"I guess. So, where are we going?"

"Many places."

"What?"

"We are going to go on a treasure hunt! Look. I've already bought all of these treasure maps!" Kirche exclaimed excitedly.

* * *

Tristain Countryside

Tabitha and Siesta was roped into this hastily constructed trip as well. Actually, Siesta had found out about it and was adamant about coming along as well. Between the two skilled mages and the Sorcerer, Mikhail reasoned that the maid would be relatively safe with them. Louise still hadn't been able to improve her magic and, oddly enough, she couldn't cast anything other than weak fire spells. Kirche had reasoned that since she had gone so long with the inability to cast any spells correctly, she just might be having a hard time adjusting to actually doing it right. Tabitha had voiced her opinion, claiming Louise might just be developing like a someone who had just awakened their magical talent, similar to a little child. Naturally, they would have trouble improving right away.

Louise had taken both statements in stride, simply being happy that she even has a chance to improve. She was also thankful to Kirche, although she'll never admit it, for giving her advice on Fire magic. The treasure hunts so far had been a bust. The first two maps led to a dead end while the third one led to an altercation with a group of bandits. It did not end well for the bandits. Mikhail was upset that Louise had been faced with danger again, although she was actually even in danger what with him literally disintegrating anything that comes even remotely close to harming Louise. After all their efforts, they were rewarded with only the bandits' bounty, nothing that they didn't already have.

The group was currently on a the hunt for a supposed ring that enhanced the wearer's magic power. This led them into a hive of fat orcs. A hive of child-eating, village-plundering fat orcs. The kind of things that people wouldn't have any remorse killing. And the group certainly did not have any remorse hunting down any that escaped as well. Mikhail was normally opposed to live test subjects, but these things were beyond his level of tolerance and so permitted Louise to try her spells on them. After killing the patrol group, the team went deeper into the cave that supposedly housed the ring which coincidentally also served as the camp for the orcs.

.

.

Mikhail was just finishing brutally gutting one of the orcs when Derf decided to speak, "Do you really have to use me so grotesquely? I mean, I am a weapon and I'm supposed to be used, but come on! I don't want to have so much orc blood and guts on me!"

Mikhail wiped the pieces of orc that was clinging onto the sword with the dead body before replying, "There. Better?"

"Very. Say, do you even think that this ring is real? 'Cuz from past experiences, we are likely to just be on some wild goose chase," Derf questioned.

Mikhail paused to ponder for a bit before shrugging, "I don't know. In any case, I'm just following what my Master chooses. And also, their really are rings that enhance magical power out there. You just have to find it."

"Mikhail! Come here!" Louise yelled. Mikhail ran to where Louise was and spotted a chest in front of her and the other two. "Do you think that this is it?" she asked Kirche.

"I don't know. Let's open it and find out," Kirche responded while rubbing her hands together.

"Be careful," Tabitha chipped in. Mikhail recalled those nasty things that frequently took him by surprise on Bitterblack Isle and decided to open the chest just to be on the safe side. He carefully lifted the top open, the hinges squeaking loudly in the quiet cave, to reveal… a ring.

"That's it? This huge chest just for this single ring?" Kirche asked. Honestly, Mikhail was not surprised. The chests in Gransys were often times like this too. Sometimes he thinks that whoever keeps leaving chests around with a single small item in it was making a fool out of him. Whoever it was, he had vowed to enact punishment for the trickery. He never did find out who kept doing it though…

Mikhail picked up the ring and examined it. True to the rumor, the ring did enhance the wearer's magical power. It was a Master Ring. For some reason, it wasn't cursed so it must have belonged to an Arisen at some point. Mikhail checked its augments and found himself to be impressed. A truly rare item. He turned around and held it out to the girls behind him.

"Does it actually do anything?" Louise asked. When Mikhail nodded, Louise continued, "So who gets it?"

The girls looked in between them and then nodded. Well, Tabitha actually just shrugged before she pulled out her book to read. Mikhail's lantern was bright enough that she could comfortably read her book inside the formerly pitch black cave.

Louise looked Kirche in the eye and then raised her fist to her head. Kirche smirked at Louise and did the same. Tension filled the air as both glared at the other. Mikhail looked at the two with a confused expression before Tabitha tapped him on the shoulder with her staff and said, "Don't worry."

Louise and Kirche took in a deep breath and then they both yelled, "ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS SHOOT!"

"Noooooooo."

"Yeesss!"

Louise was hopping in joy before she triumphantly walked over to Mikhail and extended her hand. Mikhail looked at it a bit. Louise cleared her throat loudly and shook her hand a little to signify something.

Comprehension flashed across Mikhail's face before he slid the ring onto Louise's middle finger. Louise suddenly felt a surge of power flow through her body from the ring. She looked at the ring with incredulity.

"Whoa," was all that she could say.

"This ring fits you perfectly Master. It is called the Master Ring and increases your magical capabilities by 100 and your resistance against silence by 90%," Mikhail explained.

"Alright, I get the 'magical capabilities' part but what the heck do you mean by 'resistance against silence'?" Louise asked. From the looks on Kirche's face and Tabitha slightly cocking her head to the side, Mikhail figured that they, too, did not know about Silence.

"Silence," Mikhail began while striking a lecturing pose, "is a debilitation that is especially lethal to wielders of magic. It does not actually prevent one from talking; it prevents a mage from casting spells. Spells are usually cast after one recites an incantation so that is where the name comes from."

"That's impossible. There is no way one can prevent a mage from casting magic unless their wand is taken away," Louise retorted. Mikhail clearly understood that the girls before him did not believe him one bit.

'I guess I'll show it to them then,' Mikhail thought. "I'll show you when we get out of here."

Outside of the cave, Mikhail had Louise and Tabitha stand away from him and Kirche. He then began to cast **Silentium**. The jewel at the top of his archistaff emitted a dark glow that transformed into a small sigil. He released the power into a dark aura that encased him and Kirche. After a few seconds, Mikhail released the spell and then motioned for Kirche to try a spell.

"Fireball," Kirche tried. Nothing happened. She tried again and the same result occurred. Tabitha walked over to Kirche and then looked her over to try and figure out what just happened. Louise looked astonished at the fact that there was a spell that could neutralize mage. It seemed to be an idiotic spell to her.

"What idiot would create a spell that weakens himself?" Louise wondered.

"Someone who fights other mages all the time," Mikhail answered.

"Ok, this is getting weird. Will I get to cast again?" Kirche asked.

"Yes. After an hour, the spell's effects will fade away and you will be able to use spells again."

"Undo?" Tabitha asked. Mikhail nodded and then handed Kirche a potion. Kirche drank it and tried out a spell. It worked.

"Huh. So that's what silence does. So this ring gives me protection from that type of affliction?" Louise said.

"Yes."

The team headed back to their camp to see Siesta cooking a stew and petting Sylphid, who was eating an orc. Louise saw what Sylphid was doing and then turned green.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick," she said. Kirche nodded while Tabitha just looked up from her book and shrugged. Siesta didn't seem to mind and was humming happily while stirring the stew.

Louise walked to a log and sat done. After she had eased her upset stomach (from throwing up) she smelled the delicious fragrance in the air.

"Mmmm, what's for dinner Siesta?" Louise asked. Kirche had also just gotten back from vomiting lunch.

"It's a special stew from my hometown of Tarbes," she explained as she handed out bowls to everyone, "I hope you enjoy it."

Louise and Kirche took a big sniff of it before digging in. Tabitha was quietly eating and reading at the same time. Just as Mikhail put a spoonful in his mouth (Siesta had convinced him to eat even though he did no need to to survive), Siesta spoke, "The meat is orc meat."

Louise and Kirche immediately spit out the stew that was in their mouth and ran off into a nearby bush, retching the entire way. Mikhail slowed his eating but just shrugged and then continued eating. Tabitha looked at the bowl on her lap for a second before she placed the bowl on the ground and pushed it away before continuing to read.

Siesta then laughed out loud, grabbing her stomach and trying not to fall over. Derf also joined in the laughter from his position next to Mikhail. After several minutes of laughing, the maid finally regained some control over herself, "I-I'm just kidding. Oh Founder, I didn't think that it would have worked." She then wiped a tear away and got herself a bowl. "Oh man, all that laughing has gotten me hungry."

Louise and Kirche came back and it was clear that they had vomited once more. They both eyed the stew suspiciously and then shot Siesta a glare. To their credit, Siesta smiled sheepishly at them before wilting under their gaze. "I-I'm sorry, please don't hurt me it was just a joke," she muttered quickly.

Kirche then let out a loud laugh and walked over to the scared maid and wrapped an arm around her neck, pulling her in close. "Haha! Well played! Better watch your back because you're fair game now," the Germanian said.

Louise sighed and then walked over to the bonfire. She pulled out some paper and began to think about something to write, but it was to no avail. She crumbled up the paper and threw it into the fire. Night descended quickly and soon everyone was sleeping. Everyone except for a certain white-haired man. The man stared into the dying fire. Derf popped out of his sheath and began conversing with the man.

"Hey. Whatcha thinking 'bout? A girl from home?" he joked.

"Yeah…," Mikhail replied.

"Whoa, seriously?"

"Yeah. She was- no, _is_ the love of my life. She's been with me through thick and thin. No matter what, she was always by my side. But, not anymore; I don't think that she will ever forgive me for betraying her trust."

"What did ya do man?"

"… I did something stupid. I still think that it was the right decision, but the way that I went through with it without consulting her may have been the worst mistake in my life."

"I see. Well, I can't exactly tell you what to do by using some kinda age-old wisdom, 'cuz you're like a hundred times my age. But what I can tell you is that women that have been faithful like yours are generally forgiving after letting out their anger as long as you apologize and mean it. And after you treat them to a bunch of sweets."

Mikhail smiled at that, "Thanks Derf."

"No problemo partner."

And so the white-haired man sat through the night in a peaceful silence while watching the stars.

.

.

The next day, Tabitha was the first to wake up. She climbed out of Sylphid's embrace to stretch. She looked around and saw Mikhail cooking breakfast. She walked over to the fire and sat on a log.

"Morning," she mumbled.

"Good morning Miss Tabitha. You are up early today," Mikhail responded with a gentle smile.

"Sleep?" the blue-haired girl asked.

"Hm? Oh are you asking if I have slept?"

Tabitha nodded.

"Don't worry about me. I don't need to sleep. Are you hungry? It will be done cooking in just a bit."

The scent of breakfast woke everyone else up. After serving breakfast, Mikhail turned to Kirche and asked, "Any plans for today Miss Zerbst?"

"Ah, this is the last one," Kirche said as she pulled out a piece of paper, "It is apparently called the Stone of Truth and located by a village called Tarbes."

"Oh, I know that one. I'm from Tarbes and I know exactly where it is," Siesta explained.

"Really? Let's go right now!" Kirche jumped to her feet in excitement.

"Can I stop by my house first?" Siesta asked.

"I don't see why not."

The team departed for Tarbes shortly after breakfast. It turns out that Tarbes was actually pretty close by, only about an hour away by feet. As soon as the team stepped into the village, many people started to greet them.

"Oh Siesta, you're back so soon."

"Siesta! You're back!"

"Hey, come play with us Siesta!"

"Welcome back Siesta."

"Oh? Looks like someone's popular," purred Kirche. The maid blushed in embarrassment and quickly greeted everyone. The children were disappointed that Siesta couldn't play with them so they went off on their own. The team soon arrived to Siesta home. From out side, the group could hear loud yelling and laughing and running.

"Oh dear… I've only just left and their already causing trouble for mom," Siesta sighed. She then walked towards the door and then _kicked the door in_. "HEY! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING!? SIT DOWN!" the quiet maid yelled.

Louise and the other two girls flinched back instinctively. They had never seen such a huge change in personality before. This morning black-haired girl was a kind and understanding girl. Now, she was an angry demon from hell, bent on wreaking havoc upon the two boys held within her arms. The other children were immediately kneeling on the floor with their backs straight. If one looked closely, one could see that each children were sweating with fear.

"The moment I leave, you think that the rules are gone huh? Don't think that I'm letting you two off easily," the demonic maid threatened menacingly. She then rapped both of the boys on the head with her knuckles. Judging from the sound that resulted, the maid did not hold back. The other children, who were still kneeling on the ground, watched as the boys fell to the ground limply.

"Now then," the demon turned towards the other children, emanating an aura of promised death, "What. Happened. Here?"

The children all pointed to a man who was also kneeling on the ground. Said man gulped audibly and smiled nervously. "S-S-Siesta. Y-You're home early," he said.

"Father," the maid said, stressing every syllable, "What do you think you are doing fooling around in the house when the garden has work to be done?"

"I-uh, I came in for a break?" the man said. Just then, another door was slammed open. In walked a woman who resembled Siesta but was clearly older.

"Dear," the woman began in a frighteningly cheery voice, "So this is where you were when I told you to go get another gardening hoe. Two. Hours. Ago."

The man could only smile nervously before the two demons descended upon him. Thankfully, Mikhail had the sense to close the gateway to hell and carnage to prevent any mental scarring to his Master or the other girls still standing by the door. "Perhaps now is not the right time to visit Siesta's family. Let's come back later," the Pawn said as he ushered them away.

"A demon. She's a demon," Louise mutter incoherently.

.

.

Siesta returned to the group shortly after. "Sorry about that. My family's a little dysfunctional, but I still love them all the same," she said as she wiped away some blood on her hands.

"Uh yeah. Haha ha…" Kirche replied.

"So! Let's go to the Stone of Truth now. Follow me," Siesta said as she started walking. The group followed her quietly, unwilling to awaken the demon again. Even Tabitha was jumping at every sound. Siesta led the group through a small tunnel before it opened into a small, beautiful field of red spider lilies. In the middle of the field a large black stone with scriptures written onto one of its faces. Close to the base of the stone was a pile of dirt the size of a person and an exquisite silver shield big enough to defend a man at full height.

Mikhail watched the scene with a somber expression. He knew what these flowers signified and what the pile of uncovered earth was. It seems like Tabitha also knew what it was because she finally regained her composure and was standing even quieter than usual. She lowered her head in a show of respect before looking up again.

Louise and Kirche watched the scene in wonder. Both were stunned by the beauty of the place and began to walk forward when a hand stopped both of them. The two girls turned around to see Mikhail holding them back with a mournful expression. Only then, did they notice that Siesta had gone quiet as she stepped towards the stone. She knelt down by the pile of uncovered earth and touched it gently, "Grandfather, I'm back. This time, I brought some friends like you asked."

The group heard the maid sniff once and then saw her wiping away some tears. She then stood up and beckoned them over. When the group reached her, she spoke, "This is the Stone of Truth. My grandfather guarded this stone through life and now through death. He said that it was his only reminder of what he left behind. I'm sorry but I cannot allow you to take it away."

As Siesta explained what the Stone of Truth was to the others, Mikhail knelt down to touch the earth. He then whispered, "Aegis, so this was where you went… I release you from your post. You may finally rest now, my friend." The air around the area seemed to ease in pressure just a bit.

He hadn't intended for anyone to hear him, but it seems like Siesta did, "You knew my grandfather?"

"Yes. He was once under my employment and one of my greatest warriors, but more importantly, he was one of my best friends. I had ordered him to guard this Rift Stone with his life when our city was once under siege by an enemy. I gave him this shield, the Angel's Sanctum to aid him. After the battle, this stone had vanished along with Aegis. It seems like he was somehow transported here. I'm glad that he was able to start a new life here."

"You look so young. How could you have known him?"

"I'm older than I look."

"Understatement of the century," Derf interjected.

With a sigh, Mikhail went to stand by Louise's side again.

"Well, we can't exactly do anything with this stone. Why is is even called the Stone of Truth when it is just a rock?" Kirche questioned.

"Runes," Tabitha pointed.

"This is actually called a Rift Stone. It lets people move from one dimension to another by passing through what is known as the Rift, although only a select few could really utilize it to its full potential," Mikhail answered. Tabitha looked over at Mikhail.

"Impossible," she said.

"You have doubted me before right?" Mikhail walked closer to the stone. As he did, the runes flashed on, glowing with an ethereal blue light. "Watch me." Mikhail then placed a hand onto the stone and called for a Pawn. A swirling dark cloud suddenly formed above the stone. The clouds roared and then a figure jumped out. The figure landed on its knee before straightening up. Mikhail turned towards the blue-haired girl and gestured with his hand at the real Pawn, "See?"

He then felt a hand firmly grasp his shoulder. He turned to look but was met with a fist to his face and a feminine shout.

"WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS WAST THOU THINKING THOU DUMB DAW!?"


	14. Chapter 13 - The Return

**Chapter 13 – The Return**

***WARNING* There is one scene in this chapter that some may find to be disturbing and/or excessively gory.**

**Here's chapter 13. So this chapter finally has Mikhail and Eclair reunite. Eclair is wears the entire White Hawk armor set except for the helmet and cape and wears Gryphic Greaves instead. She is also equipped with the White Hawk's Talon and no shield. She is a Fighter with some extra skills and techniques. In case you are wondering about her speech pattern, she is generally speaking in Shakespearean. To balance Mikhail, he will have a limited number of the extremely valuable items found in DD (Panacea, Wakestones, etc.) and only one copy of the high tier weapons and armors. Next thing on the list: I need you, the readers' help. I am planning to introduce an OC into this story that is going to play an important villain role. What I need from you is: **

**Name**

**Title (i.e. Blah blah the Destroyer)**

**Gender**

**Race (if not human)**

**Physical Appearance (Do not need to be extremely detailed although you are welcomed to)**

**Vocation or Class level (Dot, Line, Triangle, Square)**

***Techniques/Spells (if not related to DD, limited to 5 main ones)**

**Weapon(s) of Choice**

**Armor or Clothing**

**Personality**

**Brief History before they met the Big Bad**

**You guys will have until my next update to create your character. I will announce the winner in the chapter that the character makes their debut. If none are submitted or to my liking then I will simply use the one that I have created. Have fun!**

**Spells used in this chapter are**

**Wind Hammer: Wind-Wind**

**Fiery End: Fire-Fire-Fire**

**As always, read, comment, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Tarbes

"WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS WAST THOU THINKING THOU DUMB DAW!"

The female Pawn's metal gauntlet met with Mikhail's face and resulted in the man being sent flying. The girls looked on with shock at what had just transpired. An unknown woman just came through the spontaneous dark cloud and promptly sucker punched the man. Tabitha was the first to recover from the surprise attack. She immediately raised her staff and sent several icicles flying at the woman.

The woman saw the projectiles coming at her and in response drew her rapier. She maneuvered around the icicles and quickly closed the gap between her and the blue-haired mage. When she got within range, she lunged with the rapier at an incredible speed. Tabitha's eyes widened at the sheer speed of the thrust that was coming her way. The girl managed to just barely position her body so that the sword flew past her body. The woman abruptly stopped when the rapier was began to pass her target. She then swung the sword in the direction that Tabitha moved. The girl managed to put her staff in front of the blow and block it. Unfortunately, the staff was now cut in two. The girl jumped back a few meters and then drew her spare wand.

"**Wind Hammer**," the girl incanted. A dense mass of wind flew towards the woman. She rolled out of the way and was about to attack again if not for a gout of fire forcing her to retreat several meters from both girls.

"Who the hell are you?" Kirche growled. She prepared another spell just in case the woman attacked again, which in her opinion was highly likely. In response to the question, the woman readied her weapon and took an unusual stance. She crouched and held her rapier at eye-level. Her left hand was held out and supported the blade with her thumb. In effect, it looked like she had knocked and drew an imaginary bow and arrow. The woman aimed her sword at the red-haired girl and waited.

"I said: who th-" was as far as Kirche got when the woman moved. She took a quick step forward and twisted her body. In one fluid motion, she thrust her rapier towards Kirche. On instinct, the Germanian unleashed her spell. "**Fiery End!**"

A large wall of fire flew at the woman. To Kirche's surprise, the wall of fire hit something. Like stabbing a pencil through paper, the wall of fire parted and the area of impact widened, effectively causing the spell to fly past the woman harmlessly. The woman followed through with several more quick thrusts. Tabitha sensed the air move quickly towards them and released a wind shield in defense. The blue-haired girl felt the air easily penetrate her spell; she tackled the Germanian next to her to the ground. Just above her, the air flew by and made three holes in her flowing cloak.

The woman saw her targets fall to the ground. She immediately dashed towards them, intent on ending the ambush (in her opinion). She had to stop once more because another fire spell flew in front of her. Louise pointed her wand at the woman and sent several fire spells at her. The woman nonchalantly swiped her sword at each of the spells, dissipating them. She then approached the pink-haired girl and was about to strike when she sensed an intense pressure of killing intent from behind her. She spun around and raised her rapier to parry an incoming overhead slash. A longsword met the rapier and then shattered the rapier before the woman could redirect the strike.

"Gah!" the woman shrieked. Fragments of the rapier flew into her face and cut her porcelain skin. One particular fragment flew into her left eye, subsequently destroying it. The longsword followed through and impacted her left shoulder, denting the armor and breaking her shoulder. The woman fell to the ground grasping her shoulder and gasping. Despite the obvious look of pain on her face, the woman did not make a sound. She looked at her assailant to see the longsword pointed in her face. Stunned at what she saw, she spoke, "M-Mikhail, what art thou doing?"

The man had a hazy look in his eyes before it soon cleared up. He looked at his position and then threw the sword to the side, "Eclair! What happened!?" The man hastily changed vocations to a **Mage **and then casted **Grand Anodyne **on the fallen woman. The fragments of steel on her face was ejected from her face as the healing spell took effect. The skin knit itself back together and soon her face was once again untouched. The man knelt down and removed her breastplate. The silver armor piece was thrown to the side. The woman's shoulder, previously hindered by the deformed armor, began to heal as bones snapped back into place. The bruise there slowly faded away.

**Grand Anodyne **is a remarkable healing spell, one of the best probably. However, no matter how good a healing spell is, it can't heal something that no longer exists. The woman's eye sustained an injury so great that the eye had been completely liquified and was leaking from under her hand along with her blood. The man gently pried her hand from her face and analyzed the wound. It was a gruesome sight. The blood slowly stopped as the wound healed.

"I'm sorry Eclair, it's gone," the man said, tears threatening to fall. He still did not know what happened but had pieced together the evidence and concluded that he had done this. He wiped away the blood that dribbled down her cheek like tears. The woman smiled weakly at the man. She then pushed him away and sat up. The woman looked at the audience and saw them grimace; she sighed and covered her injured eye. Mikhail regained his composure and went to retrieve Derf.

"Hey, partner. Don't blame yourself for this. When you got knocked out by the hottie over there, the runes activated automatically to protect its Master. It ain't your fault," Derf explained. Although unsatisfied with the explanation, it did cement his theory as to what had transpired. With a sigh, the man forced a smile and spoke.

"I figured. Well, she's had worse injuries than this; she can recover. Plus, she has a high pain tolerance. Also, Derf, that 'hottie' over there is my wife," Mikhail said.

"Oh," Derf replied brusquely.

"Yeah."

An awkward silence descended upon the two before it was shattered by a loud cough. Mikhail turned around to see that Eclair had used a blue ribbon as a makeshift eyepatch.

"Mikhail, who is she?" Louise asked while eyeing the woman with disdain. The woman simply stared at the pink-haired girl with her remaining eye. The sight slightly perturbed the Tristanian. Tabitha stared at the woman with clear hostile intent but held back from attacking as Mikhail had clearly displayed worry over her. Kirche was still pointing her wand at the woman. Siesta looked at the people in front of her with fear. Not fear for her own life, but fear that the fight could have caused massive collateral damage to her grandfather's resting place. That fear soon turned to barely restrained fury at what could have happened.

Mikhail sheathed Derf, walked over to Eclair and then held her hand, pulling her towards his Master. When he was in front of her, Mikhail bowed a little and then introduced the woman, "Master, I would like to introduce to you my wife, Eclair Fraegh Ritus Serolius."

"You had a wife!?" Louise, Kirche, and oddly Siesta, exclaimed. Tabitha lowered her guard a little at the revelation but still was wary of the newcomer. To answer the question, Mikhail simply took off his and Eclair's left gauntlet to reveal identical golden rings, although Eclair's had a small red jewel on it. The girls, except Tabitha, all stared at the rings before repeatedly looking back and forth between the two adults. Mikhail smiled at their reactions while Eclair looked down with a slight blush on her face. She then remembered that her breastplate had been discarded and took off to get it. She looked at it and frowned. The piece of armor was beyond recovery. A hand landed on her shoulder; she looked over to see Mikhail handing her a new breastplate.

She took the armor and strapped it on, "I forgot that thou possess an armory."

"Mind telling me why the first thing you do when you see your husband is punch him in the face?" Mikhail asked.

Fury returned to Eclair's face as she jabbed her finger into Mikhail's chest, "Thou! What the hell were thou thinking!? Art thou stupid!? Wherefore art thou so daft!? Do thou not care about me? About us? Why?" The once regal woman had become a sobbing mess as she weakly punched Mikhail in the chest. Mikhail wrapped his arms around the crying woman and held her. The woman let all her pent up emotions flow out as she wailed, holding her husband tightly as if he would disappear once more if she let up. Mikhail looked at the audience. The girls watched on with confusion before catching his stare and promptly looked away.

After a short while, the woman stopped crying, only hiccuping every once in a while. Mikhail whispered, "I'm sorry Eclair, I'm truly sorry." He was then punched in the gut and fell to the ground in pain.

With one final sniff, the woman spoke, "Thou better be." The girls heard Mikhail's grunt of pain and looked over to see the man on the ground. The woman wiped away her tears and then walked over to the girls and bowed a little, "I am sorry about 'ere. I am Eclair Fraegh Ritus Serolius as previously stated. Who are thou?"

The return of the woman's earlier demeanor shook the girls out of their stunned state. Awkwardly and stumbling over her words, Louise spoke first, "I-I am Louise Francoise Le Blanc De la Valliere, your h-husband's M-Master." At those words, Eclair's eyes narrowed. The girl shrunk a little under the woman's intense glare.

"Ahem, I am Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst," Kirche supplied. She was looking over the woman's body and begrudgingly admitted that it was good-looking. The woman had an athletic build but also had decent curves. To Kirche, it was clear as day as to why Mikhail chose this woman as his wife.

"Tabitha," the blue-haired girl answered. She had put away her wand after repairing her staff.

Siesta bowed before straightening up and replying, "Ah, I am Siesta. Glad to make you acquaintance Mrs Serolius." The woman smiled at the maid and nodded at her. Mikhail walked up behind her and gestured at the exit.

"Perhaps we should speak somewhere else. Let's go back to the village." With that, the group left the grave site and moved back towards Tarbes.

* * *

Tristanian Palace – Council of War

"We must prepare the military. No doubt that since Reconquista is finished with my country, it will set its sights on Tristain next," Prince Wales urged. He had been requesting that the nobles of Tristain prepare for war. The nobles, however, refused. They reasoned that Reconquista was a weak force of commoners who would pose no threat, evidently disregarding the fact that Reconquista had already taken over the nation with the strongest air force.

"No, Reconquista serves no threat to us. Even if they did attack us, with Germania's backing, they will be defeated in the blink of an eye. We can better spend our time focusing on domestic problems," Marquis Baroque said.

"Reconquista has already taken over my country! Next will be yours if you do not prepare yourself for war! Do not underestimate Reconquista. They may consist of many commoners, but they also have many able mages on their side. Along with that, they now possess the strongest air force in all of Halkeginia," Wales argued.

"Prince Wales, do not let your thirst for revenge cloud your judgment. At the moment Reconquista is not a threat to Tristain and by the time that they would be, the alliance with Germania will already be in effect. With the combined forces of Germania and Tristain, Reconquista will be a fool if they attack us," Cardinal Mazarin reasoned.

"We should attack right now exactly because they do not pose a threat. If we attack now, then they will be unable to defend properly and suffer a swift defeat," Wales explained.

"Please listen to-"

"No, you listen! Reconquista will stop at nothing to achieve total victory. Even if they have to jump from battle to battle without rest, they will keep advancing! We must strike when they are still down," Wales interrupted.

"Perhaps we should-" Princess Henrietta began before she was cut off by rapid knocks on the door. She then nodded at the guards and they opened the door to see a battered soldier. The soldier stepped into the room and then knelt before the Council.

"Your Highness, I bring grave news. Reconquista has shot down several of our patrol ships and have declared war on us! The entire Albion Armada is making its way here at this very moment!" the soldier said. Many of the nobles were shocked to hear that piece of news.

"Founder damnit," Wales cursed. "I told you! We must mobilize the forces now! Mount a defense, prepare for air warfare!"

"Looks like you got your war Prince. Are you happy now?" Marquis Baroque scoffed. Wales glared at the Marquis and then shook his head.

"I will lead the first response troops. Princess Henrietta, please stay safe," Wales then left the room to prepare for battle. When the door shut after Wales left, the gathered nobles began bickering about the situation. As the shouting escalated, the Princess began to get irritated.

"Enough! I will not stand anymore arguing. We must worry more about the current circumstances: an enemy army is invading. We will gather the troops and prepare for war. I will personally lead the army into battle and we will win," Henrietta commanded. Then, she too left the room to prepare for war.

As she walked through the halls of the palace, all that Henrietta could think about is the upcoming battle.

'The entire Albion Armada… if I remember correctly, that's about 15 destroyers, 20 cruisers, 20 corvettes, 20 carriers, 30 frigates, 35 battleships,10 dreadnoughts and 5 super-dreadnoughts. Compared to the Tristanian Navy of 5 carriers, 10 frigates, 10 cruisers, and 15 battleships… there's no hope for an air battle. The ground forces will also be bombarded with cannon fire if the Armada is not taken care of. Are we truly going to face defeat here?' the Princess thought. The outlook for the war was grim for the country of Tristain. As she approached the Royal Chamber, she began to think about any plans for victory. Any thoughts of the war was discarded as she entered the Royal Chamber.

"Mother, Reconquista was declared war on us. I will lead the Tristanian Army in our defense. I will not lie to you, victory is unlikely in this upcoming battle," Henrietta said. When she received no answer, she turned to exit the room. The Princess had expected no answer, her mother had never said a word ever since her father passed away. With the Queen incapacitated like this, the duty to protect the nation fell onto the young Princess's shoulders. Steeling herself, the Princess left the room for the armory.

"Agnes, prepare the Musketeers. We have work to be done," the Princess ordered.

"At once," Agnes saluted. She had been following the Princess ever since the meeting, so she had heard about the news.

* * *

Tarbes

Several hours had passed since the incident with Eclair. Siesta had warmed up to the woman instantly. Her knightly demeanor and obvious devotion to Mikhail made the maid's mind plunge right into the gutter. All throughout the day, she had rambled on about "forbidden love between Master and Servant" and how Mikhail and Eclair's love life was "novel-worthy". Louise also got along well with the woman. The woman's actions were similar to her familiar's so it was just like having an extra aide, which she was used to having.

Kirche was not so happy with the new woman. The wife of her target suddenly appearing had ruined her plans. The woman's high standards of social etiquette were also annoying to the Germanian.

Tabitha was wary of the female Pawn. The woman's skills with the sword were too dangerous to disregard. Even if she was weaponless, Tabitha figured that the woman was still just as deadly.

After spending the rest of the day helping around the village, the group returned to Siesta's house to have dinner and sleep. Mikhail and Eclair had chosen to sleep in the tents under the stars. Eclair refused to let go of the man, reasoning that he might just go ahead and do something stupid again. Mikhail had finally began to really relax now that his wife was by his side again. He had worried about her constantly ever since he arrived in Tristain. That night was the first time that Mikhail enjoyed a peaceful sleep in his new world.

.

.

The next morning, Mikhail woke to find Eclair snuggling in his chest, hugging him like he was a pillow. He smiled briefly before he gently pried her arms off of him. As happy as he was to be reunited with his lover, he still had his duty to fulfill. As he moved to exit the tent, he heard a voice speak to him, "Good morning Mikhail. I see that ye are taking thy duty seriously."

"Of course, the duty of a Pawn is no joking matter. You of all people should understand," Mikhail replied.

"True, but ye are not a real Pawn. If thou wilt serve that dram girl, then I shall serve alongside thou."

"Eclair -" Mikhail began only to shut up when said woman shot him a glare. She then smiled and gestured towards the exit.

"Shall we?" she asked. Knowing better than to argue this, Mikhail left the tent and headed towards Siesta's house. All of a sudden, he heard something whistling and before he could react, a nearby house was demolished. The sudden destruction caused everyone to wake up and take a look. A patrolman ran into town and began shouting.

"We're under attack! Everyone, evacuate immediately! Head east towards the capital!"

Everyone understood the simple commands. Panic ensued as men and women grabbed their nearest belongings and fled. Children cried as parents practically dragged them away from town. The town guards tried to bring order to the people in vain. Flying in from the west were about 10 military ships with cannons pointed at the village. The ships fired several more shots and several houses were reduced to nothing but wooden piles.

Then, a blasting of trumpets silenced the hysteric villagers. To the east, the Tristanian Navy had arrived. The Navy fired at the attacking ships and had sunk a few of them before they could return fire. The lead ship of the Tristanian Navy, a dreadnought, fired all of its cannons and destroyed the remaining enemy ships.

The villagers cheered. They had been saved. The dreadnought descended and landed not too far away from the village. Prince Wales dismounted along with several members of the Albion Royal Guard. He approached the village and then commanded, "People of Tarbes! This was but a prelude to an upcoming war. I need all able men to help construct a defensive line to hold back the ground forces long enough until the Army gets here. Five hours is all I ask. Five hours before we achieve victory against the invaders!"

The Prince's speech stirred the men into action. Several more ships landed and the soldiers began to turn Tarbes into a defensive area. The men of Tarbes joined them and soon the village had been barricaded as much as possible. Spare cannons lined the village, ready to fire at the invading army at a moment's notice.

.

.

"Master, we must leave immediately. This place is about to turn into a warzone, you are not safe here," Mikhail urged.

"No! I will not leave when my country needs me most. What kind of noble would I be if I did not defend my home when an enemy invades? I will stay here and fight the invaders," Louise yelled back.

"Master, this is not a game. You could be killed. If that happens, then that's it. People die when they are killed."

"Nonsense. I know that you revived Prince Wales at Newcastle. I don't need to worry about death when _you_ cannot die and youcan always _revive me._"

"So he told you. Listen to me Master, I cannot revive you or anyone else anymore because I used my last Wakestone on the Prince, and my powers have not return to me fully."

"That doesn't matter, you have many potions that have miraculous healing abilities. They will suffice."

"The potions cannot help if you die before they can be used. And trust me, human lives are fragile things that can end just as easily as blowing out a candle."

"Are you suggesting that I am a weakling!?"

"You _are _weak!"

Louise was stunned at her familiar's sudden outburst. She then began tearing up as his words sunk in.

"Y-Y-You dog! How d-dare you call me weak! I'll show you!" Louise screamed as she stomped off. Kirche, who was observing the argument, looked at Louise's shrinking figure. She then walked up to the white-haired man and slapped him before running after Louise. Tabitha scowled at the man and then followed her long-time friend.

"Master, haply thou shouldst apologize to thy Master," Eclair said.

Mikhail sighed, "Eclair, how many times have I told you to call me by my name?"

"Exactly 29438732995 times sir," the woman answered.

"And how many times have you actually times have you followed through with it?"

"Five."

Mikhail sighed one more time, "Alright, let's get this over with. Maker, I can never win a verbal fight with you women."

"Tis because we distaff art born as masters of speechcraft," Eclair replied smugly.

"Yeah, yeah," Mikhail said as he walked in the direction of Louise.

"Master, prithee bestow upon me new weapon."

Mikhail raised an eyebrow at his wife. As he saw the Dragonseye Band on her face, Mikhail remembered what had happened to her previous weapon. A wave of guilt washed over him. Eclair noticed the change in her husband's attitude and instantly felt guilty of making him feel guilty over something that he had no control over. Mikhail sighed again and swallowed his guilt before pulling out the holy sword Ascalon.

"Repeatedly sighing is bad f'r thou Master," Eclair said as she took Ascalon out of Mikhail's hands. The man smiled at her and then continued after his Master. He then felt the ground tremble at a regular interval.

"An earthquake at this time!?" a nearby soldier whined.

"Nay soldier, tis not an earthquake. Tis," Eclair began.

"Battle formations," Mikhail completed. From the western horizon, a large armada could be seen unloading thousands of ground troops and thousands of flying units taking off.

"Founder! How many are there!?" another soldier exclaimed. Loud trumpets erupted from the east, signaling the arrival of the Tristanian Army. At the head of the army, Princess Henrietta in a beautiful suit of armor rode on a majestic unicorn.

"Not enough. Tristain does not have enough to repel the invaders… Eclair! Go find my Master and take her towards the Princess over there. After that, defend her as you would me until I return," Mikhail commanded.

Eclair grinned as she heard someone return. She loved her husband wholeheartedly, but there was one aspect of her husband that she absolutely _adored_. The return of _it_ flipped a mental switch in Eclair. Her blood sang as _he _resurfaced. The man who ascended to godhood. The one and only…

"Welcome back _Rex Victoriae."_


	15. Chapter 14 - Battle of Tarbes Pt 1

**Chapter 14 – Battle of Tarbes Pt. 1**

**Hey guys, here is the first part of the Battle of Tarbes. The entire second half of this chapter is action. Hope you like it. And also, one of you readers left a comment about the types of ships that I used to describe the Armada and Navy. In response: I wholeheartedly agree. I do not know much about naval ships and such things. I will do some more research on the topic and will change it when I have more knowledge on the subject. I reasoned that Albion, who are more focused on their Navy than anyone else, will probably be more advanced in that field, hence the dreadnoughts. Just felt like I needed to explain my descriptions. Anyway, this chapter marks the beginning where I start to stray a little bit away from canon; the main events are going to stay the same though.**

**To all of you that gave me your ideas for OCs, I thank you. The winning character is Jacob the Forger. Congratulations! Also, his signature spell, the Forge, seriously reminded me of the Unlimited Blade Works from Fate/Stay Night, and so I gave him his own aria for the spell. For those of you who I did not chose: don't worry, they might show up later in the story. **

**Named Spells used in this chapter**

**Twister = Wind-Wind-Wind-Wind**

**Steel Golem = Earth-Earth-Earth-Earth**

**Earthly Skin = Earth-Earth-Earth**

**(Karin's) Sphere of Winds = Wind-Wind-Wind-Wind**

**Spike Storm = Earth-Earth-Earth**

**The Forge = Earth-Earth-Earth-Earth**

**Steel Will is not a spell, it is a skill**

**Holy Fortress = Void-Void**

**As always, read, comment, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Tarbes

"Welcome back _Rex Victoriae,"_ Eclair saluted. Mikhail curtly nodded at her and then departed to his destination. Eclair watched her commander leave and then promptly went to fulfill her assignment.

She wondered around a bit and finally found her current charge. Louise was currently spewing obscenities about Mikhail while Kirche and Tabitha wer trying to calm her down. Eclair walked up to the trio and cleared her throat.

"Lady Louise, mine commander hath plac'd me in charge of thy safety. We art to move towards the Princess's location and hold out thither," Eclair informed.

"… And where is he right now?" Louise questioned with a hint of contempt in her voice. After things calmed down after their first encounters with each other, Louise and everybody else had learned that Mikhail used to be the woman's commander. That solidified their hunch that Mikhail used to be in the military. They had also discussed about her peculiar speech pattern and now knew that Mikhail was actually the odd one out in their home country. Both Mikhail and Eclair refused to discuss in details about their past though.

Eclair hid her oncoming scowl underneath a stoic facade before replying, "Mine commander hath depart'd to deal with the foe."

"The enemy's here already!?… And the Princess too!?" Louise yelled in surprise. Kirche also looked surprised as well while Tabitha did not react to the news. Before Eclair could reply, a soldier ran around shouting at people to get to battle positions. Eclair frowned a little bit and then walked up to Louise and pulled her towards the Princess.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Let me go!" Louise yelled. Unfortunately, the woman did not respond and only pulled Louise harder. "I said: let me GO!" With that, Louise pulled out her wand and was about to blast the woman when it suddenly disappeared from her grasp. The woman sighed and kept pulling Louise, the wand held in her other hand. Louise, frustrated at the turn of events so far during the day, pulled out her trump card: her original wand. Kirche gasped at the danger that she was in and leapt away. Tabitha also stopped following the duo and whistled for her dragon; Sylphid flew in and picked up her Master and Kirche before flying high into the air. Eclair noticed the reactions and felt the gathering magic behind her.

The female Pawn immediately pulled the girl close and jumped away. She scanned over the area and failed to see any danger. When she landed again, about 10 meters from her original position, Eclair looked at the girl that she had wrapped in her arms and noticed the hostile aura originating from her.

"Is thither a reason f'r thy hostility?"

"R-Release me you-"

Before Louise could complete her insult, the ground began shaking again. Louise clearly felt it this time, she was too busy being upset earlier.

"Look! It's the Albion Army! They're advancing!" Kirche yelled from atop Sylphid. Eclair clicked her tongue before running towards the last location that she saw the Princess; Louise was being carried like a sack of potatoes and screaming the entire way. The blue dragon was about to follow the female Pawn but her Master told her to stay.

"Hey, why aren't we following?" Kirche asked.

Tabitha pointed to the villagers running around and muttered, "Help."

.

.

Princess Henrietta had just received word that the first half of the Tristanian Navy, with Prince Wales, was not faring so well against the Albion Armada. Even though the Tristanian Griffin Knights were also there to help out, they were slowly but surely losing to the opponent. Not only did Albion possess the better ships, they also had way more aerial units: the Albion Dragon Riders. Although the Griffin Knights were sturdier, the Dragon Riders were swifter and could easily outmaneuver them. With the air battle turning for the worse, Princess Henrietta scowled more and more. Chevalier Agnes had deployed most of the Musketeer Squadron into the village to prepare for battle and only had seven, including her self, to protect the Princess. As the ground shook, Henrietta looked towards the horizon and saw the enemy army advancing. The sheer size was enough to make her despair. With such an enormous gap between the two armies, the chances of winning this battle became slim if not impossible. It would take a miracle to turn this around, and unfortunately, Henrietta was not exactly a religious person. Fortunately, she had a plan.

She turned around to gaze at her men; most of them were either praying or looking around suspiciously. She couldn't let her army fall into despair now or else they would surely desert. Trying to think of something inspirational, she spoke.

"Men of the Tristanian Army! I speak to you today not as your Princess, your idol, nor your superior. I speak to you as one of your fellow Tristanian. I speak to you as a fellow soldier protecting our great nation. I know that the situation looks grim. I know that we are outnumbered at least 10 to 1. And I know that many of you are afraid because I am as well. Today will be the day that most of us will die. That is for certain. I understand if you want to leave and I cannot stop you. In fact, any who chooses to leave right now will be fully pardoned. I will not hold this against you. However, I you do choose to leave, know that you will only be weakening our defense here. When this village falls, who do you think will be next? The next battleground could be your village with your wives and children at stake. Know that Reconquista will show no mercy for any of us. They will use those who you hold dear against you and force you take your fellow countrymen's lives. After that, they will torture your loved ones slowly and painfully before they turn their blades against you. Is that truly what you wish to happen? Is that what you want for the future? If not, then stand your ground here and fight. Stand beside me today and fight for your family if not for your country. Fight for this village today so that you can prevent the deaths of others tomorrow. This is our only chance to stop them and we _will_ stop them! They _will_ learn to regret their foolish decision of invading us and they _will_ be defeated!"

The men of the Tristanian Army roared as morale skyrocketed. Many were simple farmers conscripted to fight just a few hours ago, and now they were ready to march to Hell and back at a moment's notice.

"Aptly put Thy Majesty."

"Halt! Do not take any more steps forward or face the consequences!" Agnes barked. In the blink of an eye, all of the Musketeers in the vicinity had their firearms pointed at a woman in silver armor. The woman only responded by moving her hand a little bit closer to the sword at her hips. Agnes noticed the subtle movement and fired, causing the others to fire as well.

In response to round pieces of lead traveling towards them, the pink-haired girl fell to the floor covering her head while the woman drew her sword. As the sword was drawn, it emitted a bright light, effectively blinding the gun wielders. The woman then swung the sword around her. As the sword touched the flying pieces of lead, they were completely disintegrated. As the woman completed her spin, she sheathed her sword and stood stoically once more.

Agnes was stunned at what she had just caught sight of. She had been blinded but quickly recovered to see the armored woman somehow defend against 14 bullets with one continuous movement. After that, she had even put away her sword, as if to signify that she approached with no ill intent. Regardless, Agnes drew her sword and held it threateningly in front of her.

"Louise!" the Princess said while dismounting her unicorn. She then ran up to said girl and brought her back to a standing position. Louise was still shocked about being shot at but soon recovered when the Princess hugged her. "Louise, what are you doing here?" Henrietta inquired.

"Princess! Am I glad to see you. I was here on personal matters when the village was attacked," Louise explained.

"Oh thank the Founder, you're alright. Where is Mikhail? And who is this woman?"

"That idiot went somewhere and sent his wife to babysit me," Louise's disdain for her current situation was quite obvious.

"His wife?" The Princess then looked over at the woman who was surrounded by her bodyguards, who had their weapons drawn and pointed at her. The woman was staring at the Chevalier, as if she was daring them to make the first move, one that they would likely regret. Then she turned towards the Princess and looked her right in the eyes. The Princess had never felt so vulnerable and fearful ever before. Somehow, it felt as if the woman before her was an even bigger threat than the approaching army.

"Yeah. Her name's Eclair Fraegh Ritus Serolius. Apparently Mikhail was married before he came under my service," Louise introduced.

"Greetings Princess Henrietta. Mine commander hath order'd me to protect you and Lady Louise above all others," Eclair said. Agnes still held her sword at the woman and was trying to analyze her. Similar to Mikhail, the woman held a sense of military discipline about her. The only difference was that while Mikhail had the feeling of a confident commander, this woman gave off the feeling of an elite soldier.

Agnes felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see her Princess smiling at her, implying her to withdraw her weapon. As she did so, Agnes kept an eye on the armored woman; she still did not trust Mikhail and so this woman, said man's wife, was not exempt from her scrutiny as well. The Princess then approached the woman and was about to speak when a messenger ran up to deliver a letter. Agnes read the letter, which brought an annoyed look to her face. Henrietta noticed and took the letter to read it.

According to the letter, several glory-hungry nobles had already marched their men, even though the Princess had clearly told them to not make a move until she ordered it. The Princess then apologized to Eclair and left to reassert her control over the army. Louise followed her and Eclair proceeded after Louise.

.

.

It took just about twenty minutes for the ground battle to begin. After Henrietta put some nobles back in line, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Armored Brigade of the Tristanian Army moved to form a line, four rows of a thousand each for every brigade, between the Albion Army and the Village of Tarbes. The 1st and 2nd Cavalry Squadron were positioned behind the Village in order to have them close by but remain relatively unseen. The 1st Tristain Magics Company were placed within the village itself to serve as a healing center. The 2nd through 6th Magics Company were directly behind the Armored Brigade to provide long range spell cover as well as to combat any enemy mages. Half of the conscripts were equipped with spears and formed a wall of spears in front of the village and behind the Magics Company. The other half were integrated into the 2nd through 7th Infantry Regiment, which flanked the Armored Brigade with three on each side. The 1st Infantry Regiment was guarding the evacuating villagers who stayed behind to prepare the village. The Musketeers Squadron was split into two and were positioned behind the left and right flank of the formation.

Tristain's trump card, the legendary Heavy Wind and the recently revived Manticore Knights, was placed within the village to await the right timing for deployment in order to break enemy morale. Princess Henrietta was currently pacing through the village to make sure everyone was in position.

She had developed a battle strategy that she knew would seize victory if properly performed despite the gap in numbers. She had spread the Army out just thin enough to allow the flanks to completely circle around and trap the approaching army inside without compromising their ability to defend. After the enemy is trapped within, the Manticore Knights will take to the air and bombard the inside while the ring of soldiers will slowly constrict the enemy, pushing them tighter and tighter together. The Magics Companies will defend the encirclement from any magical attacks while the Musketeers Squadron will defend it from any who was not trapped within. After the villagers have left, the 1st Infantry will move in to help defend as well. The Cavalry Squadrons will take care of the enemy cavalry with the help of the Heavy Wind before turning around to help defend, too. Hopefully, they will be able to defeat the enemy army before the Albion Armada can arrive. The second half of the Tristanian Navy will arrive shortly and reinforce the first half and buy time for the plan to succeed.

After that is the tricky part. The Armada will inevitably defeat the Tristanian Navy due their superior firepower and naval technology. However, by the time that the Navy has been defeated, the Germanian forces should have arrived and the combined forces of Tristain and Germania will be able to repel the Armada. Ultimately, the fate of Tristain is going to be decided by how fast Germania is.

Finally, the time for battle has arrived. The enemy mages have started to fire volleys of spells; the Magics Company were doing everything in their power to defend the formation. Despite the flying spells, the Albion Army kept marching forward. Several enemy golems had already arrived and were being cut down as fast as possible while ally golems were also deployed to weaken the enemy. The spell battle resulted in a stalemate and now it came down to melee combat. The Albion Army charged as they got within a hundred meters of the defensive formation.

Shouts of commands were given and horns blared with orders.

50 meters. A deathly silence fell within the ranks of the Armored Brigades. They knew that many will not survive this initial charge.

40 meters. Final prayers were whispered and the men positioned themselves.

30 meters. The shaking ground grew in intensity. The men planted their lances into the ground, tips pointed at the enemy, and were committed to the defense.

20 meters. The incoming army raised their weapons, ready to breakthrough the defensive line.

10 meters. The men looked at their enemies in the eyes to see fear, confusion, and determination. The Tristanian Brigadier General inhaled. "BRACE!"

Impact. Immediately, the first row of men crumbled under the sheer weight of incoming men. The long lances did their jobs at holding against the enemy, but many snapped due to the huge numbers. The second row had an incremental increased rate of success at holding back the still-charging army. Soon enough, the second row was also broken. The third row was finally able to stop the charge. The conscripts charged forward, past the Magics Companies and reinforced the line. Horns thundered across the plains, signaling the second phase of the plan.

The formation moved, beginning to encircle the enemy and constricting them. The Musketeers Squadron on both sides fired shots repeatedly into the enemy army, incurring zero misses due to the close proximity and the dense crowd. Waves upon waves of men fell to the muskets while the infantry fought desperately to make the strategy a success. It was slow and gruesome, but the enemy slowly began to withdraw into themselves, making the innermost individuals unable to fight while the long lances of the Tristanian Infantry killed many of them.

The enemy commander saw what was happening and easily comprehended the simple, yet ingenious design of the plan. He knew that with the smaller number of rows, the men had to hold or else everything will fail. The magic units also had to defend against any spells that could break the formation as well. And that was the weak link. The commander then sent in his cavalry to charge the magic units.

Horns blew, signifying the approaching enemy cavalry. Princess Henrietta gave the Cavalry Squadron their confirmation and they departed to engage. Unfortunately, the enemy had more troops than at first estimated and she had to deploy the Manticore Knights early to engage the enemy cavalry as well. The Princess moved into the village to try and find the Heavy Wind, who was currently scolding her daughter.

.

.

Eclair watched as one of the strongest person she had ever met glared icily at her own daughter. The female Pawn had expected to hear the mother screaming at the daughter, but all that had happened so far was a glare from mother to daughter. Louise had visibly wilted after she tried to hide behind Eclair. If looks could kill, the young Valliere would have vaporized instantaneously. Suddenly, she felt the ground tremble. The ground was always trembling due to the nearby battle, but this one seemed to be of a different origin. The Heavy Wind felt it as well and began to search for the source. Both Eclair and the older Valliere jumped away, with Eclair taking Louise with her, as fast as possible right before a steel hand erupted from the ground and slammed into the spot they were just standing on. The steel hand then grew and formed into a ten meter tall Steel Golem.

Eclair was surprised and slightly annoyed at the sight of the Steel Golem; surprised at how fast it formed, and annoyed at how hard it was to take down one with just a sword. The older Valliere immediately fired off consecutive Triangle-class wind spells at the construct. The spell, while not doing any damage physically, were able to stagger the golem. Eclair drew Ascalon and charged. She swung the sword at it, not really expecting to do any damage except maybe denting it. And so it came to her as a surprise when she felt no resistance as the sword simply flew into its left leg and out the other side, completely severing the appendage. The Steel Golem fell onto the ground due to the lose of its leg; Eclair stared at the sword held in her hands. Apparently, Ascalon is much more powerful now and yet it feels the same.

Before she could inspect the holy sword any further, the Steel Golem was back on its feet and threw a punch towards her. A wind spell managed to divert the oncoming attack and Eclair was able to safely regroup with Valliere and Louise. The other mages within the village began attacking the golem to no effect. The steel construct rampaged around but was ground to pieces by a Square-class Wind spell.

"**Twister,**" Valliere muttered. Sparks flew as the spell impacted the golem and grinded it away. For some reason, the golem began to crack and break apart. When the Wind spell was extinguished, the golem continued to decay. Metal spikes suddenly erupted from the crumbling golem and injured or killed many of the surrounding mages. Eclair was able to swat away any of the projectiles heading in her or Louise's direction while the older Valliere encased herself in a wind dome similar to Tabitha's but significantly stronger.

From the crumbled remains of the golem, a man in a blue robe over a suit of armor emerged. He had gray hair and blue eyes. Despite the armor, it was clear that he was more muscled than the average soldier. The man walked towards Eclair and Valliere before slightly bowing to them.

"Greetings miladies. My name is Jacob Goffe. It is unfortunate but I must request that you leave. I have no business with you, only with Princess Henrietta. Do you perhaps know where she is?" he said.

The Heavy Wind quickly released a spell towards the man. In response, the man formed an earthen wall before him to block but was surprised to see the wall completely shatter when the wind spell impacted. Goffe quickly rolled out of the way and had to reevaluate his opponents.

The woman with the glowing sword seemed to be the most dangerous at close range, mostly due to how the sword had cut through his _Steel_ Golem like clay. The taller of the two pink-haired ladies was extremely dangerous. Her spells, even the basic ones, seemed to be lethal. The other one was still an unknown but was clearly an important person to have these two to defend her.

'Perhaps I could use her as a hostage,' he thought. 'No. That's dishonorable. Why did I even think of that as an option?'

The man stood up and then waved his wand, "**Earthly Skin**." The spell caused the man to be encased in a layer of earthen armor. He ran forward with his sword, ready to attack. Eclair charged forward to meet the man with a thrust. The man saw the abnormally fast attack coming and refocused his magic to strengthen the area of impact. The glowing sword managed to penetrate six inches into the constantly shifting armor before being stuck.

Eclair tried to pull back the sword, but the armor held it firmly. Normally Ascalon would have easily gutted the man, but because of his repairing armor that seemed to be almost alive, the sword met much more resistance than she expected. The moment the sword touched the armor, several layers of paper-thin earth, each with the durability of ten inches of steel, moved to intercept it.

The man then grabbed Eclair's wrist and held tight, preventing her from withdrawing her arm. The man then brought down his sword to sever her arm at the elbow where there wasn't any armor but watched as his sword broke upon impact with the woman's uncovered joint.

"**Steel Will,**" the woman proclaimed. The sword had cut through her sleeve and bit into her arm a little bit, but it was only enough to draw a trickle of blood. The man withheld his shock before being blown away by a wind spell. As he hit the ground, it shattered under his weight. Ascalon was thrown off his armor when the spell had hit; Eclair quickly picked it up and charged at the downed man. Several metal spikes flew out of the dust cloud that formed from his impact, causing the female Pawn to defend and stopping her advance.

The Heavy Wind unleashed several spells at the hidden man to no avail. The man had dug underground and disappeared. She immediately casted **Sphere of Winds** that encompassed a 20 meter radius sphere around her. The spell prevented anything inside of it from escaping and stretched on for 20 meters in all directions from the caster. Anything that touched its wall would be cut apart.

Goffe stopped dead in his tracks. The **Sphere of Winds **prevented him from escaping for at least 30 minutes. While he was confident in his skills, he wasn't crazy. He knew he had no chance against the female mage. He had deduced that she was the infamous Heavy Wind.

'What can I do? I can stay hidden here and wait it out. No, she'll simply make the sphere smaller and force me out. Confront? Very high chance of death. Hostage? Never. Steel Golem? Didn't work the first time. Earth armor? Too slow. …That one spell? That one spell.' With that, Goffe made up his mind.

He was forced to keep moving when a drill made of wind pierced close by. He emerged onto the surface to see a glowing sword coming for his head. He ducked under it to meet a knee to the face, causing him to stumble back. Another thrust flew towards him and he tried to dodge it. The sword clipped him on the chest, destroying his armor in the process. He leapt backwards only to sense several wind spells coming at him. He started chanting.

"**The fire roars, the hammer ****pounds****, the water squeals. **

**Metal is shaped, giving life. Metal is wielded, giving death."**

Five swords appear out of thin air to intercept the wind spells.

"**The people grieve, the blacksmith protest.**

**Turned towards the domestic, away from the battle."**

Goffe lands 10 meters away and scorching heat erupts from his body. Eclair charges forward to attack. The man pulls a spear from nowhere to defend, forcing the swordswoman to defend against a sword's natural enemy. Several wind spells fly towards him but are again destroyed by swords. Ascalon cuts through the shaft of the spear only to find itself facing against yet another spear.

"**And yet there is no difference.**

**Blood is spilled, hopes are crushed."**

Weapons of all kinds start to rain down upon Eclair, forcing her to make a steady retreat. Goffe closes his eyes and focuses on his spell. Valliere's spells continue to be intercepted by the weapons. Frustrated, she unleashes a stronger spell that destroys all of the weapons. However, more simply appear right away.

"**Determined, broken, hopeful, despaired.**

**The blacksmith weeps but accepts in the end."**

The created weapons fight for dominance against the dome of winds. For every one that is destroyed, two more take its place.

"**There is only one truth:**

**Metal is shaped, given life to deliver death."**

Valliere is shocked when she sees that her **Sphere of Winds** is forcefully destroyed. The created weapons now completely block the entire sky, with no signs of stopping any time soon as they continue to rain down upon the two.

"**The fire roars, the hammer pounds, the water squeals**

**from within The Forge."**

The falling weapons finally stop, but the weapons remain. A metallic scent fills the air. Jacob exhales and opens his eyes. What was once light blue eyes were now deep red. With a silent command, all of the weapons in the sky vanish. Louise, who was outside of the dome of wind the entire time, takes a step forward. Suddenly, a claymore slams down right in front of her, causing her to fall on her bottom. The Heavy Wind narrows her eyes at the man and sent a spell flying. As soon as the spell exited the wand, it is destroyed by three spears erupting from the ground.

Eclair performs the same technique that she used on Tabitha and Kirche a day earlier, **Piercing Air, **and shatters five shields that materialized to take the attack. Goffe raises his right hand and materializes ten cannons before him. He swings his hand down, "Fire."

Eclair sprints towards Louise and then shields the girl with her body.

The older Valliere shouts, "**Shield of-"**

Before the spell could be completed, five heavily armored people fall from the sky and lands in front of the three of them.

"""""**Holy Fortress!**"""""

* * *

**AN: Here are some extra information about the battle**

**Battlefield Information (In-story information possessed by Henrietta)**

**Tristanian Army: 39,100**

** -Armored Brigades: 4,000 each**

** -Infantry Regiment: 2,000 each**

** -Cavalry Squadron: 500 each**

** -Magics Company: 250 each**

** -Musketeers Squadron: 500**

** -Conscripts: 10,000**

** -Manticore Knights: 100**

**Expected Germanian Reinforcements: 50,000**

**Albion Army: 211,000**


	16. Chapter 15 - Battle of Tarbes Pt 2

**Chapter 15 – Battle of Tarbes Pt 2**

**Here is chapter 15. This chapter shows what Mikhail was doing when the events of the last chapter had transpired. It also reveals a bit of his history before becoming the Seneschal. Not much else to say. So yeah.**

**As always, read, comment, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Tarbes

Mikhail watched his wife salute to him just like in the old days. He suppressed a smile that was beginning to come onto his face from the memory and strode off. The Tristanian Army did not have enough numbers to win this battle. Even if everyone in the army were extremely skilled, overwhelming numbers has a strength all to its own, one that is not easy to overcome.

'_Rex Victoriae… _only she would remember that,' Mikhail thought. It had been far too long since he had last been called that. It had also been too long since he last did what he was about to do. Still, that only presented a chance for him to flex his muscles a bit.

Mikhail walked through the village, watching the villagers set up barricades. He stopped to help out here and there, but steadily made his way to an unlikely weapon. Unfortunately, he witnessed an accident and decided to help out, thus delaying him from his destination. After healing the injured person, he was requested to heal the other injured volunteers as well. Well, all that he really needed to do was cast a **Grand Anodyne **and the villagers could step into the healing sigil whenever they need.

After decades of experimentation, Mikhail had created a system where he could continue feeding the spell with energy while in a different location. This eliminated the need for recasting the spell and also allowed him mobility while maintaining the spell almost indefinitely. However, this also had some draw backs as well. The most important was that it required mana, a lot of it. He speculated that the average mage could only maintain the spell for about a minute past the spell's natural duration before being drained of mana. Luckily for him, Mikhail had absolutely an astronomically huge mana reserve thanks to his prolonged exposure to the Rift and the Throne; in other words, he could power the spell for a long, long, _long _time.

A second draw back to the system was that he is unable to utilize any of his other spells when it was active. This also includes changing Vocations, meaning that he if he wants to keep the spell going, then he has to stay as a **Mage **until he reverts back to being a **Sorcerer**.

Deciding to keep the spell active, Mikhail described the properties of the spell to the people and then resumed on his march. Along the way, he had met Tabitha and Kirche, who had decided to help prepare the village. Mikhail directed them towards the areas that needed the most aid after learning about the situation. Suddenly, the ground started to shake even more. He looked over at the enemy army and saw that they were beginning their attack. On the other side, the Tristanian Army also started to move.

The village guards started to shout out for an evacuation, leading the men towards the nearby forest. An advanced group from the Tristanian Army arrived soon after to help in the evacuation. The white-haired man spotted the two girls again and was relieved that they were not as impulsive as his Master. They were leaving with the villagers.

The battle was going to begin soon. This prompted Mikhail to sprint towards his destination, opposite of the forest. After several minutes of running, he reached it. The Rift Stone. As he placed his hand on it, he felt the nostalgic thrumming of mana inside the stone. He cleared his mind and created a link with the stone through mana exchange. His consciousness flowed through the stone and landed inside the Rift.

If he was being honest, he really did not expect Eclair to show up when he first activated the stone. The Bestowal of Spirit had already started to take place, slowly changing her into a real human. He could feel the change in his spouse over the last few decades that they were together. When he had approached the subject with her, she had vehemently tried to reverse the process. She did not want to lose her natural immortality granted to her by being a Pawn. If she turned into a full human, she would lose that and eventually succumb to age. She did not fear death but she rather was concern about her husband's well-being after her death. Immortality was a both a blessing and a curse, but more so the latter.

That was why he did not expect Eclair to show up. Her status as Main Pawn allowed her to be called into the world by him without accessing the Rift; he only needed to touch the stone. However, the Bestowal of Spirit had made her less of a Pawn and more of a human in her prime.

* * *

The Rift

Inside the Rift, Mikhail knew that something was different. He didn't know what the difference was, but he knew it on the instinctive level. Something was off. As he wondered around, he did not see any Pawns. That was different but not unexpected. He had entered an empty section of the Rift before and it did not remain empty for long as Pawns within the Rift naturally gravitated towards the Arisen. Usually.

A half hour of emptiness had solidified his theory. The connection between the Pawns and Halkeginia's Rift was as close to nonexistent as one could get.

"Have Pawns truly never stepped on Halkeginia before?" he wondered out loud.

"They have. It just been a really long time since the last one," Derf answered. "Anyways, this place does feel kinda different from how I remember it. It used to be a lot more cloudy and less 'nothing', you know what I mean?"

"Yeah."

"So whatcha gonna do 'bout it?"

"I can establish a more secure link to the Pawn Dimension but that will take time. Time that I do not have."

"Ok, but if you want to call upon them you're gonna have to do it."

"I know…. I guess a less secure one will have to do for now. I'll return and make a better one when I have the time."

With that, Mikhail stretched out his right hand in front of him and channeled some mana through it. Eventually, the Rift responded and a small puff of the regular cloudy substance within the Rift formed within his palm. He opened his hand to let it take shape. It grew in size; quickly covering the enter area he was standing in and as far as the eye can see. He could see some if it fading away, but that was not an issue for now.

He focused some more, pushing the mana out of his body into the empty Rift. The Rift was truly empty until now. Even eiss, the essential factor to the existence of everything, was absent here. Now that he thought about it, this place felt more like a void of nothingness than a part of the Rift. Well, now he was using that to his advantage. The emptiness of the place allowed him to create a link much faster than usual. It felt as if the place was sucking everything into it to fill up its void. If this pace kept up, he could probably create a sturdy link at half the time.

The clouds turned into a teal color as they became saturated with magical power. Finally, the clouds began to coalesce into a recognizable realm. It was ready. He tested it out by calling on a long time friend of his. From the borders of the realm came a man with auburn curly hair and a mustache. He was wearing green tunic and wielded a sleek black staff.

"Ah, Rook my old friend, how have you been?" the Seneschal asked, hand extended. Rook was the very first Pawn that Mikhail had ever met. Although Rook had been doomed to never improve on his skills, he was the most intelligent person that Mikhail had ever met. That was to be expected because Rook was actually one of the oldest Pawns ever. He had always existed alongside the Cycle of Return, aiding the Newly Arisen until they could call upon others.

The man took Mikhail's hand and gave it a firm shake before placing his right fist over his heart, "It was been a while Milord. I have been well. What is it that you require of me?"

Mikhail steeled his will and then spoke, long-forgotten authority returning, "Rook, time is of the essence. The Pawn Legion shall march once more."

Rook's eyes widened at the implications of that statement. Then he felt something within him reawaken and he smiled. Everyone who had been under the service of the _Rex Victoriae_ knew the sweet taste of victory and all of them yearned for the return of his glorious empire. Rook was no exception.

"At once, my king," Rook said. He then vanished in a flash of light. Mikhail returned to his body soon after and heard the sounds of metal clashing and spells flying.

"So it has begun. Let's go make a port for the Legion Derf," Mikhail said as he began walking. He stopped to look at his fallen comrade before departing.

.

.

"So, you're a king?" Derf asked. He was watching his current wielder engraving a magical circle onto the ground. Derf recognized the glyphs; they were the exact same ones as the ones on the stone. The only difference was that the symbols were arranged inside a circular border. Mikhail had taken them to a hill beside the battlefield so that he could over see the battle as well as prepare to receive his Legion. Although the Tristanian Army had a remarkable ploy and were very close to victory, the enemy's cavalry was able to disrupt the formation and route one of the magical units. Immediately, the tides turned in favor of the enemy. With the magical unit weakened, the enemy had been able to puncture holes into the formation with magic. The battle was slowly descending into a free-for-all. When that does happen, Tristain's defeat was a guarantee.

"I was. A long time ago I was crowned king of a small nation for my contribution in restoring it to its former glory. Well, at the time it was only a dukedom but the people decided to become independent. Long story short, I expanded the small nation to cover all the peninsula that it rested on and later on annexed the main land to become united under one flag: mine," Mikhail explained.

"Quite the power-hungry individual aren't we?" Derf teased.

"Well… technically Eclair said that the nation was, and I quote 'too small for someone of your stature' and the majority of the people agreed with her. And so after a couple of years, we had the perfect opportunity to invade another country because they had attacked first. It just kind of snowballed from there," Mikhail said, looking embarrassed for how things had turned out. He hadn't meant to take over the entire continent but he was only looking at the individual battle every time and had conquered it when he stopped to check.

"A prolonged military campaign like that one must have cost a lotta money and resources. How long did it take?"

"About two decades, give or take a year," Mikhail answered.

"And your people just agreed to that? Your nation's economy was surely in shambles right?"

"Not necessarily. You see, the people agreed to it because they weren't the ones fighting. The Pawn Legion was. And because the Pawns are not exactly living beings, they could keep marching day and night with little rest. Food and water was not an issue as well and weapons were not that hard to replace. Most of them were just picked up from the dead enemies when their weapons broke. And if any of them died, they could easily be replaced at a Rift Stone."

"So you've basically got an unstoppable army at your beck and call!?"

"I wouldn't call it 'unstoppable'…"

"I feel a 'but' coming," Derf snorted.

"But we were never truly defeated in battle. We were forced to retreat a few times due to defending my nation taking precedence over annexing new territory though," Mikhail answered.

"Uh-huh."

"Aaand with that, I'm done. Rook should be done on his side as well. Here's the signal… and now, we wait," Mikhail said.

"By the way, how big is your Pawn Legion?" Derf asked. Right as he finished asking that, a gigantic swirling cloud appeared on the ground where the magical circle was. At first it was slow, but soon hundreds of men rose from the cloud, all perfectly standing in formation. This continued on for several minutes until men finally ceased to appear. One final man rose from the clouds, Rook.

"I have assembled one tenth of the Legion, my king. This should suffice, yes?" Rook asked. When the Legion soldiers saw who was standing before them, they all went down to one knee, bowing before their only king.

"Well Derf, the entire Pawn Legion's numbers is about the same as the years that I have been alive. This is one tenth of it at exactly 592,387 soldiers, including Rook," Mikhail responded, "And yes, this shall suffice Rook."

.

.

Princess Henrietta was distressed. Her plan to victory had been foiled because of only one factor: she did not factor in the Conscripts skill level. It was an amateur mistake that had now cost her dearly. At the moment, the formation was broken; over half of the Magics Companies were routed, the Conscripts were completely wiped out, and the Musketeers Squadron was either killed or captured. The Manticore Knights and Cavalry Squadron tried their best but the enemy cavalries had found a way through to the mages.

The Princess had to move back into the command camp, about five hundred meters behind the village. Henrietta raced around, issuing new orders, most of them being orders of retreat. She did not want to use it, but the village of Tarbes provided the perfect spot to launch an ambush and turn things around. Retreating through the village will lure the enemy right into their traps, but the ensuing battle will surely level the village.

Her orders were being delivered, but the actual battle itself prevented the army from following them. If they turned their backs now, they will cut down before they could retreat. In light of all these failures, there were only two things that seemed to go right: they just needed to hold out until the Germanian Army arrives with reinforcements and the fact the Albion Army had suffered severe casualties. About half of the enemy army had been defeated. It seemed that while the enemy had a large number, the majority of them were conscripts.

And then, she heard something that made her heart drop: cannons. Henrietta looked towards the west and saw the very thing that she dreaded. The first half of the Tristanian Navy could not hold out and all but one had been destroyed. Only Prince Wales's ship had survived but even then only just barely. It was retreating and the Albion Armada had given chase. As soon as it spots the ground battle, it will open fire and destroy all hopes of victory.

"No, no, no, no, NO! Damn it! It can't end like this…," Henrietta sobbed. She watched as the Armada positioned itself next to the battlefield and adjusted their aims. And the just like that, all of them fired. "That's it. We lost."

"Not yet," a masculine voice said beside her. She jumped with surprise while Agnes, her ever-loyal bodyguard drew her gun. The man easily disarmed the blonde woman and then tapped her on the head her own gun. "Stop being so trigger happy; although given the current circumstances, it is forgivable," the man admonished.

"Sir Serolius, what are you doing here?" Princess Henrietta asked, "Shouldn't you be with Louise?"

"I have left her in the care of a capable person, one whom I trust wholeheartedly. I am here to offer you my aid because my Master's country is too important to her. Whether or not you accept my aid is up to you," Mikhail explained.

"What can one man do!?" she growled.

"A lot. For example, I have just saved your men from certain doom," the white-haired man answered. Henrietta turned to the battlefield and saw that the numerous cannon balls were suspended in air. No, that wasn't quite right. She could just make out a giant pale yellow barrier covering the entire field and defending it from the cannonballs.

"What? How is that possible?" she asked. The sheer size of the barrier was unbelievable.

"Well?" the man asked.

Shaking the impossible feat from her mind, she refocused on the battle. If someone as strong as this could do that, then maybe, just maybe, Tristain could still win this battle. Quickly making up her mind, she nodded, "I would be honored to accept your help in this most perilous time of ours."

"Save the polite speech, now is not the time. Have your troops fall back, I will deal with the enemy," Mikhail commanded as he strove towards the battlefield.

"Alone?"

"Of course not."

Henrietta watched as the familiar of Louise began to sprint towards the battle. He was amazingly fast, perhaps even as fast as the fastest steeds out there. And then she was interrupted by her men suddenly shouting in surprise. They were all pointing towards the north. She turned to look at what was all the commotion when she saw it. Approaching from the north was a massive army baring an unknown flag. It was a simple flag: a black background with a red dragon on it.

She watched as the army marched towards the site and then saw a familiar red figure speeding towards them. Apparently this was Mikhail's promise of aid. With this, the tide of the battle had shifted once more. Victory was close at hand, so close that she could practically taste.

.

.

Mikhail raced towards his Legion. As he reached them, he turned around to look at the battle. The Tristanian Army was able to successfully retreat now that the enemy was focused on them. The Armada was also focused on them as well.

'They will prove to be a nuisance,' Mikhail thought. He then addressed his troops, "Mystic Knights and Fighters, front and center shields up! Warriors behind them, be ready to charge! Magick Archers with Warriors, equip daggers! Rangers and Striders hold positions and fire at my signal and then fire at will! Rook, take the Sorcerers with you and sink those ships! Mages, head towards that village and prepare to treat the injured! Assassins to enemy camp, destroy chain of command! This is an easy victory for warm up before the real conquest begins. Utilize Corral Formation. Advance!"

The Pawn Legion immediately moved to their designated positions and lumbered towards their enemy. The Mages left for the village while Rook led the Sorcerers towards the ships. Mikhail then felt something pulse within. He was shocked at the meaning behind it and then immediately shouted.

"James, Hector, Lucile, Anne, Gregor! To Eclair now!"

The five Mystic Knights were consumed by a teal cloud and vanished in the blink of an eye. The others shifted to fill in the gaps. The enemy army charged at them. The iron wall of shields easily withstood the attack.

"Push, Open, Charge!" Mikhail ordered.

The wall of shields repelled the enemy and pushed them away, opening a gap of a few meters. They then opened their shields to allow the Warriors and Magick Archers to fight. The Warriors cleaved through the enemy, easily breaking through with sheer force. The Magick Archers ran forwards and leaped high into the air before slamming their daggers into the ground, causing huge explosions of fire to erupt from the ground and sending the enemy flying. The gap between the armies widened even more.

"Fire!" Mikhail shouted. Millions of arrows flew into the sky and fell upon the enemy rear. With their retreat blocked by a rain of arrows, Mikhail drew Derf and ran forwards. "CHARGE!"

The Pawn Legion then broke formation and ran forwards with their commander. The stunned army had no chance. With the full might of the Legion falling upon them, the enemy simply crumbled. Without letting his men do the work, Mikhail ran deep into the enemy army and sent men and pieces of men flying with each swing of the sword. Terrified, the enemy tried to turn around, scrambling for their lives. However, what they didn't know was that while it may just seem to be an all out fight with no strategy involved, the Legion were actually slowly being shepherded into a specific formation. The majority of the Mystic Knights were circling around the army, keeping them contained. The Warriors followed Mikhail into the enemy army and started to divide the army in two down the middle.

.

.

Eclair was surprised to see her old comrades come to her aid like this. She slightly relaxed, feeling more assured of her victory against her foe with her comrades here. She had been surprised by all of the spells that the man, Jacob Goffe if she recalled correctly, were using. Especially the last one. Materializing weapons out of nowhere like that? She had never met anyone beside Mikhail do something like that. Even then, Mikhail couldn't just send the weapons flying.

The cannonballs impacted harmlessly against the combined **Holy Fortress. **Goffe was shocked at the sudden arrival of even more enemies. He was having a hard enough time against the swordswoman and the Heavy Wind; with these five newcomers, failure was a guarantee. Even with his signature spell, **The Forge**, it was impossible to win. The spell might have made it look like he had summoned those swords out of nowhere or create them instantaneously, but in actuality the weapons were actually just many copies of about a hundred personally forged weapons. The only weapons that he could create with this spell were ones that he himself personally made, and he hasn't had time to increase his inventory in a while.

Well, it was time to escape then. He never wanted to assassinate the Princess anyways, and now there is a valid reason for his failure. With one last barrage of weapons raining down on the shields, Goffe prepared to leave. However, he was caught unaware and paid the price for it. The swordswoman had charged around the defensive wall and was now slashing through his left forearm. He quickly kicked her away and then burrowed into the ground and left before the Heavy Wind could use another spell.

He kept moving away from the village for about half an hour before he resurfaced. He had wrapped his arm with a piece of his robe and then used earth as a cast.

'At least I'm still alive. I can't afford to die now, not with so much at stake,' Goffe thought. He was ready to just take a nap right about now. Well, after he gets his arm properly treated.

.

.

The Albion Army was just about done for. Henrietta couldn't believe her eyes. Sir Serolius had simply waltzed onto the battlefield and then completely won the battle by using the strategy that she had thought up of. He did change it a little though; he had split the enemy into smaller chunks that could be defeated simultaneously. His Mage unit was also very formidable too. Actually, it was beyond formidable; it was downright terrifying. A subordinate of Serolius had led a company of mages to face the Albion Armada. Only a few of them had stepped forward to actually cast a spell. They had created ten large tornadoes and flung the airborne ships around. Many of them collided with each other and broke down. The larger ships were able to withstand the malevolent winds better, but they did not emerge from the storm unharmed. The larger ships were just barely managing to stay afloat.

As Henrietta watched this, she saw another group of people running towards the battle ground. At this point, Sir Serolius was just cleaning up now. The group of people seemed familiar. She then made out a mop of pink hair.

"Louise!" the Princess yelled. She was about to run after her childhood friend but was suddenly blinded by a bright white light engulfing the remainder of the Armada. After the light passed, the ships, or what remains of them, crashed onto the ground. "What was that?" she asked no one in particular/

.

.

Louise felt useless as she watched her mother and current bodyguard fight the assailant. Even when she attempted to do something, she was almost impaled by a flying sword. Frustrated at her own weakness, she ran away to try and do something. Eclair was distracted attacking the man and her mother seemd ticked off at being cut off earlier. Louise knew that her mother was holding back during the entire fight in order to prevent collateral damage.

Louise looked around and then saw her mother's familiar. She approached the manticore and started to mount it. She had rode on her mother's familiar before and it never really reacted differently than a horse. She knew that the familiar was intelligent, though she never knew to what extent. She also knew that her mother trusted her familiar enough that it was one of the only beings out there where Karin could relax around. It was considered a family member in the Valliere household, and not just as a pet either. The manticore seemed to understand what Louise wanted and so it took off at her command.

Louise saw her mother turn around to catch her departure. "Louise! Get back here now!" she yelled. That made Louise flinch. Her mother had never raised her voice ever before; she was always using that outwardly calm voice that hinted at the simmering anger held within. But Louise had made up her mind and continued on her path. She didn't actually know what to do, but she was determined to help Prince Wales escape safely. She had seen his ship retreating earlier.

As she flew towards the Prince's ship, she saw ten huge tornadoes emerge and wreak havoc on the Armada. Eventually the gales subsided and she drew closer to the Armada, curious at the out come of such a spell.

Louise felt something pulse through her. She tried to shake it off, but that did not help. She could feel a foreign source of magic flowing through her. Mikhail's lessons had allowed her to be more intuned to her magical reserves. She reached for the source and found it coming from the Founder's Prayer Book. She held it in her hands and then her eyes grew hazy as she drew her wand. She pointed it towards the ships as she incanted a spell. The manticore hovered when it felt its rider loosening her grip.

After several minutes of incanting, she spoke the one word that she had associated with failure: "**Explosion.**"


	17. Chapter 16 - The Void

**Chapter 16 – The Void**

**Here is chapter 16. So with this, the Battle of Tarbes is officially over. Also, sorry about the drop in length but I thought that this was a good stopping place to build up for the next arc. On a side note, I graduated from high school a few days ago and is currently on my summer break before starting college in the fall. Yay me... I'm not excited for college at all as you can probably tell.**

**Levitation is a Dot class Wind spell**

**Explosion is a Void spell**

**As always, read, comment, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.**

* * *

Tarbes

Karin glared at the way her youngest daughter blatantly ignored her as she rode off with Karin's familiar. The manticore had always liked her youngest daughter the most after her so it wasn't surprising that he would obey Louise. As Louise took off towards the Armada, Karin chased her. The woman who Karin had seen with her daughter also followed as well.

Karin had volunteered to go to battle when the Princess had released the news that Reconquista was invading. Even though she had been retired for about a two decades now, she was still the best Wind mage in the entirety of Tristain's history. She also had a long history of serving in the military and it had ingrained a sense of nationalism in her that was greater than the average Tristanian. So it wasn't surprising that she had been one of the first nobles to take up her old armor and defend her country.

What she hadn't been expecting was to find her youngest daughter running around the village that was soon to be the epicenter of an invasion. She had hoped that her daughter would have stayed within the safe confines of the Academy. With the previous commander of the Tristanian military there, the Academy was one of the safest place in the whole country. When she saw her daughter in the village, she just had to confront her. As soon as the enemy was routed, she was going to have a long talk with Louise. The only thing that she could commend Louise for was that she was smart enough to acquire an adequate bodyguard.

Speaking of bodyguards, the woman who accompanied her daughter was a curious sight. The bodyguard, a blonde woman, was either a rich mercenary or was backed by a noble. Either way, the woman was clearly used to warfare. The way she carried herself spoke volumes of her experience despite her relatively young appearance, probably in her late twenties or early thirties. This was later proven during the fight with an assassin.

During the fight, Karin had to hold back as much as possible to not level the village. However, she was still impressed by the opponent. He was competent enough to stand against her even though he knew who she was. Most enemies knew that it was suicidal to even consider facing her alone without backup. The blonde bodyguard also performed adequately. She was taken by surprised and was not a mage but had still put up a decent fight. Most commoners would have been dead within the first minute against an enemy of that level. Yet, she held out until the end and had even managed to injure the man and forced him to retreat.

Everything had returned to a semblance of normality until she saw her daughter on her familiar flying towards the enemy. And so she had no choice but to follow her. Many people assumed that Karin was a cold-hearted mother and that she may have not actually loved her children, but the fact was that she adored them. They were the reason why she had retired in the first place. Granted her eldest child was actually unexpected, but regardless of the events that followed, she thought that her girls were the greatest gift that she ever received. Their safety is her first priority no matter what and her husband shared that view. They would rather die before they let their children suffer harm from anyone, even themselves. That was why she had enacted the Rule of Steel within her household. She didn't want her children to go off and do something that would cause them harm. It also coincidentally protected the Valliere name from any incidents or scandals as well.

As Karin sped herself with a Wind spell, she eyed the battlefield. A mysterious army had shown up during her fight with the blue-robed man and routed the enemy. She knew that the battle was not going well from the numerous retreat signals that she heard. Now that a new army had shown up, things were getting even more complicated. Why were they here? Were they allies? Were they only involved to eliminate a mutual enemy? Were they opportunistic and here to route both armies? The questions were quickly growing in numbers, but she pushed them into a corner in her mind to deal with her first priority: prevent Louise from killing herself due to stupidity. Times like these were the ones that made her hate introducing her daughters to her familiar. Her daughters had built enough rapport with her manticore to be considered his other Masters. And he would never listen to anyone else when one of them took the position of Master, even if Karin herself counter-commanded it.

As Louise grew increasingly closer to the enemy airships, she noticed what was currently going on: the ships were under attack by ten massive dark tornadoes. The sheer power of just one was impressive, and with ten going on at once, the destructive power was close to rivaling her signature spell at full power. That made it even more dangerous for Louise.

When the spell ended, there were just a few ships left in the air. She noticed one ship in particular retreating as the others simply floated there. The retreating ship most probably housed the commander of this invasion and Reconquista. The other ships were too damaged to even fire off a shot, being too busy trying to just stay in the air.

She ran as fast as her Wind spell allowed and quickly closed in on the battlefield, which was standing between her and the remaining ships. She then heard a sound that was similar to someone running. That was strange as she was running faster than a wind dragon could fly. She looked to her left and was surprised to see the bodyguard slightly behind her. The bodyguard was keeping up with her and the shocking thing was that Karin couldn't feel any trace of magic on the woman. Choosing to disregard this information for now, she turned back towards her objective.

She was running through the battlefield now, the soldiers a blur as she sped through it. The battle was wrapping up and she watched as some of the soldiers were not even fighting. Some where just running around reporting to their superiors. She then ran past a flag of unknown origin. It was completely black except for a red dragon in the center. Putting that image into the back of her mind, she continued on to her destination, briefly seeing a man with white hair before running past him. She noticed that the bodyguard was no longer following her as she exited the other side of the battleground. It didn't really matter, but it definitely lowered the woman's standing for Karin.

Karin was just about to reach Louise when she saw her pointing her wand at the ships. Now she knew that her youngest daughter had some trouble casting magic. She had hired some of the best teachers to educate her daughter in controlling magic but no one had succeeded. In Louise's latest letters home, she had stated that a new person had been able to successfully taught her how to produce magic properly. Karin had been ecstatic about the news even if she did not show it outwardly. However, Louise had also explained that she only had the ability of a child who had just started on the path of magic. Nevertheless, Karin was still happy.

So when she saw her daughter pointing her wand at the ships, Karin wondered what Louise had intended to do. Any Dot-class spell was useless here.

"What are you trying to do?" Karin mumbled to no one. Just as she was under Louise, she felt a sudden surge in the ambient magic. With wide eyes, Karin watched as the magic coalesced into the tip of her daughter's wand, the normally-invisible magic actually visible to the naked eye. And then she barely heard an exclamation: "**Explosion**".

"Shit!" Karin cursed. While she normally don't use vulgar language anymore, this situation more than made it appropriate. Whatever her daughter had done, it was big and it was powerful.

Karin immediately shot into the air with a **Levitation** spell to grab her child. After casting the spell, Louise had apparently fallen unconscious as she fell out of the saddle. Karin grabbed the girl and then mounted her manticore.

"Move!" she yelled. Understanding the urgency in his Master's voice, the manticore shot into the distance as fast as its wings could carry them. The nearby soldiers seemed to have also heard her as many turned their heads in her direction. Their leader, the white-haired man from before, instantly took command and ordered his troops to take a defensive position. Many of the mages who were attacking the ships also raised a defensive barrier around themselves. Karin assumed that they also belonged with the mystery army because she didn't recognize any of them.

She turned around to see what her daughter had done when she was suddenly blinded by a flash of light followed with a loud boom. A shockwave caught up to her and was nearly blown off the manticore. The beast was also thrown by it but soon regained its stability. When she regained her vision, she witnessed a huge crater on the ground. The mages near the crater were safe but many were injured as their barrier broke. The army had withstood the blast admirably as only a few toppled over when the shockwave made impact. The remaining ships of the Armada were completely destroyed, with many of the ships consisting of only fragments of their former self. The only ships in the sky at the moment was Prince Wales ship, which was already retreating before Louise had even took off with her manticore, and the enemy command ship. The enemy's ship did not get hit by the blast but was grounded by the resulting shockwave.

.

.

The massive Albion Army of 211,000 men had been reduced to a measly 2,300 men within six hours of fighting with all but three of the commanding officers killed in battle. Of the three, one of the captured commanders was none other than Oliver Cromwell, the leader of the Reconquista. Cromwell somehow later escaped when security was the lightest.

The Tristanian Army had suffered roughly 33,000 casualties during the battle, with the Musketeer Squadron being wiped out save for the ones guarding the Princess. The entire Albion Armada was destroyed while only half of the Tristanian Navy was destroyed due to the other half not arriving in time. The mystery army had not sustained any casualties but was treated with suspicion by everyone else. No one would just show up for a battle with such huge numbers for no reason. Because of that, the Tristanian Army did not relax even after an ambassador from the mystery army proclaimed that they came in peace.

Prince Wales returned to base camp with numerous injuries and had to be treated immediately. The Princess held in her worry for her former lover and dealt with the needs of her military first. The villagers were busy repairing Tarbes as the village had been hit by cannons multiple times. They were also tearing down the barricades that had been set up throughout the town. Kirche and Tabitha returned to the Acadmey when they saw that everything had settled down. Siesta stayed to help rebuild her home while Louise was still unconscious. Karin had volunteered to look after her and the blonde bodyguard had also returned soon after to look after Louise.

Mikhail had dismissed the Pawn's Legion soon after the battle had ended and joined up with his wife in guarding his Master. The woman who was already there kept on eye on the two of them throughout the entire ordeal.

Overall, the majority of the Albion military was defeated during the Battle of Tarbes. Although Tristain suffered heavy casualties, only about 13,000 were killed. Even if Tristain was officially declared the victor in this battle, many argue that the losses were simply to great to be considered a victory. If it weren't for the mystery army showing up when it did, Tristain would have lost. The second half of the Tristanian Navy arrived shortly after the conclusion of the battle; the Germanian reinforcements never came.

* * *

Tristanian Palace, Tristania

"How do we know that that unknown army is not hostile!? With our nation currently recovering from such a pitiful victory, we are easy pickings for them!" yelled Marquis Baroque. He was one of the commanders of the Magics Companies and so he had seen first hand what had transpired.

"Peace, Marquis Baroque. I have already spoken to their leader and have come to an agreement with them," Princess Henrietta said. After the battle, she had spoke with Sir Serolius. It was then that she learned that Sir Serolius was actually the Supreme Commander of that unknown army, which he had called the Pawn Legion.

"After some discussion with their leader Mikhail Ecto Serolius, Sir Serolius has agreed to lend his army in the protection of the nation of Tristain under one condition: the Pawn Legion will _only_ protect the nation from invasion and nothing else. It will not conduct war for the nation and it will not police the nation. It also will not protect the nation if any actions were done to deliberately provoke any other nation into attacking," Henrietta explained.

"That does not mean that they are harmless. In fact, that only gives them the chance to scout our nation before they invade us," Cardinal Mazarin agreed with the Marquis. While Cardinal Mazarin would usually like to think the best of people, this scenario was just too convenient for it to not have a hidden agenda. "Foreign nations, especially ones with such a large army, are rarely ever altruistic towards other nations. It is made even more unlikely due to the fact that the only country with an army that could even rival this one in numbers is the Germanian Army. To support such an army, the country must be quite big just like Germania, and the only way a nation could get that big is through invasion. Also, country's rarely go to war with their entire military force so it could be possible that they could have even more on standby. Your Highness, while I would like to believe in them, it is too obvious that they have something planned or at the very least have an unknown goal to help us."

"The fact that they aren't telling us what country they hail from makes them even more suspicious," said Duke Lafayette.

"Cardinal Mazarin, while I do trust for you in regards to most things, this is one of the subjects that I must be adamant about. I understand that most of all the arguments put forward here today are due to a lack of information. However, I have given my word that I will not reveal what I do know of them lightly. I you wish to know the answers to your questions, then I must ask that you take an oath of silence," Henrietta explained. Mikhail had already told her about some of their origins although she knew that the man withheld some information. She couldn't really blame him though. Mikhail had also stated that the only person who could order the Legion into a war was either his co-commander or himself. What he didn't reveal was the fact that since Louise was his Master, Louise could also command the Legion through him.

Some of the nobles, most notably Cardinal Mazarin, Duke and Duchess Valliere, and Headmaster Osmond, agreed to take the oath of silence while others did not. Those who didn't were asked to leave the room until they were summoned once again.

"I must ask again that this matter must not be told to anyone outside of this room. While their leader did not exactly say it, it is implied that they will forcibly silence anyone who leaks this information. Do you understand the importance of keeping this under wraps?" Henrietta asked the remaining nobles. After they gave affirmation, the Princess began to explain.

"The leader of this unknown army is a man known as Mikhail Ecto Serolius. He is the Supreme Commander and very likely the king of this army and its nation. They hail from the distant nation Gransys although I speculate that this nation is more likely an empire. The army is officially titled the Pawn Legion and I have been informed by some of my aides that the army numbers are close to 600,000. That was all the information that he was willing to share at the moment. The last piece of information that the man told me before he left was a cryptic message: 'Nothing has returned'."

The remaining nobles were stunned silent. While some of them were surprised to find out about this new nation of Gransys, all of them were even more shocked to hear about the number of their military.

"600,000 men? I already asked myself this but how could 600,000 men cross into Tristain without anyone finding out sooner? It seems impossible," Marquis Baroque said. To suddenly see another army on the battlefield makes one wonder how they could have traveled so far into Tristain territory unseen.

"It is possible that they infiltrated as immigrants," Cardinal Mazarin offered.

"That would have taken years. Why would they show up now of all times even if they did do that?" Duke Valliere asked.

"… I don't know. With the current information that they have provided for us, we are still left in the dark regarding their intentions," the Cardinal said.

"What does his final message mean?" Princess Henrietta asked. That was the part that confused her the most. She felt that it was probably a warning of some sort but she just couldn't figure it out.

"Hmm… 'Nothing has returned.' I wonder…," Headmaster Osmond mumbled. Ever since the news came to him that Louise Valliere was possibly a Void mage, he had done some extensive research on the subject. He found out that no one kept any good sources of information regarding the lost element. He suspected that Romalia may have hid some texts about the Void but that was mere speculation.

"What is it Headmaster Osmond?" Duchess Valliere asked. She knew that her former teacher was smarter than what he led others to believe.

"Oh nothing. It's just that your daughter Louise seems to have acquired the most unusual familiar recently," Osmond said.

"Really? She never mentions her familiar in any of her letters home, only that she has one now," Duke Valliere said.

"How does this relate to what we were just talking about?" Marquis Baroque asked sharply. He has always had a short temper but it was even worse nowadays due to the recent events.

"Well, Louise summoned not a creature but a man during the Springtime Familiar Summoning. One of the professors there has told me that the man's familiar runes are very close to that of Gandalfr, one of Founder Brimir's familiars," Osmond explained. "If this is the case, then Louise could very well be a Void Mage; although that is just mere speculation."

"I see… void is synonymous with nothing," Duchess Valliere whispered. "But how would the man know of this anyways?"

"Your Highness, didn't you say that the leader of the Pawn Legion was a man named Mikhail Ecto Serolius?" Osmond questioned. The connection between the man and the Void were now becoming obvious to all within the room.

"Do you think that this man may be a Void Mage?" Henrietta asked.

"Possibly. In either case, I think that it is better to have such a formidable man on our side, don't you think?"

.

.

Mikhail was standing outside the room where his Master slept. After the battle, Louise had been taken to the palace because her mother, who he recently found out was the pink-haired woman looking after her with his wife, had some business with the Princess.

He knew that news about an unknown army appearing in a battle between Albion and Tristain would spread like wildfire. He could only hope that his Master remains safe in the near future. Things were changing and he experienced many civilizations that crumbled because of it. Jopefully, this wouldn't be one of them.


End file.
